![]() ![]() There also is a misconception that working outdoors isn't highly technical or doesn't require skill, he said. They are not often encouraged to consider firefighting by guidance counselors or recruiters, said Terry Baker, CEO of the Society of American Foresters and its first Black leader. The dearth of applicants of color may partly be due to a lack of awareness. Student Kolin Bilbrew, left, starts a prescribed fire with instructor James Klungness-Mshoi, right, during a wildland firefighter training, June 9, 2023, in Hazel Green, Alabama. Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders make up less than 1%. Native Americans/Alaska Natives and Asians linger around 3% and 1%, respectively. The number of Hispanic staff has grown by 10%. Black women make up around half a percent. Between July 2010 and July 2022, white staffers fell from 86% to 66%.īlack fire personnel have remained mostly around 1.3%. It has approximately 13,000 employees including firefighters and other staff who respond to wildfires. The development programs that have come out of the Alabama-Forest Service collaboration are responsible for training two-thirds of Black foresters in the federal agency, said Love, who was in the first FireDawgs squad.ĭiversity among the Forest Service's wildland firefighters has increased by 20% in the last decade, according to data collected by the agency. When class isn't in session, the FireDawgs are dispatched to wildfires or burn operations around the country. The Bulldogs established a nationally accredited firefighting team in 2009 made of students, called the FireDawgs. A USDA Forest Service Center of Excellence in Forestry was created at the school in 1993 to prepare students for jobs with the agency. The consortium is building on top of a decadeslong relationship between Alabama A&M and the Forest Service. ![]() The hope is every student comes away with a foundation to chart one of many possible paths in forestry, ecology, agriculture or firefighting. "We're trying to create a pipeline of students who are pursuing this natural resources education and forestry and fire." So, it just makes sense to align our efforts and move together in the same direction," Love said. ![]() "These four HBCUs have some of the top agricultural programs at HBCUs in the nation. The idea for a consortium came during the pandemic to address a "mission critical area of the Forest Service," said Stephanie Love, the USDA Forest Service's national diversity student programs manager and an Alabama A&M alum. The number of wildfires this year is below the 10-year average, but hot and dry conditions are raising the risk, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. grows due to climate change and minorities remain underrepresented in forestry and firefighting. The recruitment effort comes as wildfire season around the U.S. Wildland firefighter instructor James Klungness-Mshoi, center, gives instructions to students during a wildland firefighter training, June 9, 2023, in Hazel Green, Alabama. Forest Service and a cluster of HBCUs comprised of Florida A&M University, Southern University in Louisiana, Tuskegee University and Alabama A&M University. The on-site fire academy is part of the 1890 Land Grant Institution Wildland Fire Consortium, a partnership between the U.S. I feel like that's more inspiring," Mohead said, grinning. And then being a woman of color, that's something, too. She never pictured herself fighting forest fires. It's a grueling way to spend summer break, but Mohead is relishing it. It's part of an apprenticeship program that will give them the credentials to hit the ground running toward a fire line. They clear paths, light fires and make sure the embers are out when they're done. Forest Service intern is among 20 students from historically Black colleges or universities who are participating in a prescribed burn demonstration under instructors' supervision. Now, the recent Tuskegee University graduate is trekking around trees in Hazel Green, Alabama, in fire gear and sweltering heat. ![]() Before starting college, Taylor Mohead had never been outside her hometown of Houston, Texas. ![]()
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