The women's fire crew (WFC) program will train and develop 6 women in wildland fire operation and work on active fuels management projects in partnership with the national park service fire and…

This Cooperative Agreement award of $133,435.61 from the Department of the Interior National Park Service Intermountain Region will support the Montana Conservation Corps, Inc. in training and developing six women in wildland fire operations through the Women's Fire Crew Program. Funded under the Youth and Veteran Organizations Conservation Activities program (CFDA 15.931), the award will engage women in developing the next generation of wildland firefighters through hands-on experience completing fuels management projects on National Park Service lands between May 17 and August 9, 2022. Specifically, crew members will receive entry-level wildland firefighter certification and training in areas such as firefighting, incident management, chainsaw operations, and national incident management systems. They will gain on-the-job skills and experience working with professional fire staff while also receiving coaching and mentoring. Performance goals include qualifying crew members as national wildfire coordinating group firefighters and fallers, providing meaningful fuels reduction project work to build competency, and potentially hiring crew members for wildland fire assignments as allowed during fire season.

The women's fire crew (WFC) program will train and develop 6 women in wildland fire operation and work on active fuels management projects in partnership with the national park service fire and aviation program in DOI region 6,7, & 8. Women will be hired by montana conservation corp and be based out of bozeman, MT; they will help complete projects between may 17 and august 9 to reduce the risk of wildland fires and protect park values at parks in the wyoming park group (grand teton national park, john d. Rockefeller, JR. Memorial parkway, bighorn canyon national recreation area, fort laramie national historic site, fossil butte national monument) and yellowstone national park. The WFC will engage women in developing the next generation of wildland firefighters; crewmembers will be trained in basic firefighting, incident management, and chainsaw operations.they will receive the training, experience, and support necessary to secure a job with a federal land management agency in fire management.summary of project specific activities:women will help complete active fuels management projects that will reduce the risk of fire to protect NPS values and neighboring wildland urban interface communities by conduction fuels reduction projects. The crewmembers will be trained in basic firefighting, incident management, and chainsaw operations. They will receive the training, experience, and support necessary to secure a job with a federal land management agency in fire management.?they will receive entry-level national wildfire coordination group certification and training, including fire aid/CPR, s-130 firefighting training, s-190 introduction to wildland fire behavior, l-180 human factors of the fireline, i-100 ICS command system, nims-700A national incident management system, and s-212 wildland fire chainsaws.they will work with trained professional fire staffs with the national park service and gain on-the-job skills and experience and they will also be coached and mentored in wildland fire and national park service operations.performance goals including milestones and expected outcomes:qualify conservation corps crewmembers as national wildfire coordinating group firefighter type 2 (FFT2) and faller 3 (FAL3).provide meaningful project work in fuels management to build competency and experience.hire crewmembers as casual hires (administratively determined) to take wildland fire assignments as fire season allows to gain firefighting experience.beneficiaries:female youth