Fire Management Officer

If you enjoy the outdoors, working with a variety of people, and meeting new challenges each day, BLM's fire management program may be for you. A BLM fire management officer (FMO) is responsible not only for controlling wildfires and helping to prevent them, but also for helping to rehabilitate areas that have already burned. Sometimes, BLM decides that an area should be burned in order to eliminate undesirable vegetation and replace it with more desirable plants, shrubs, trees, etc. These planned fires are called "prescribed fires." The FMO is responsible for making sure that such fires are started only when weather conditions are right, and that the fires stay within established boundaries. The FMO is also responsible for the aviation program, since aircraft are often used in detecting and controlling wildfires. The FMO is a manager who supervises those who actually put out the fires or accomplish other fire-related work. A college degree is now required for most BLM fire management officer positions. That degree could be in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources, chemistry, or related fields.