Job Type: Full-time, on-site
Location: California Department of Parks and Recreation - Julian, California
Pay: $46.47-$63.77/hour
Application Deadline: November 5, 2026
Description:
Under the general direction of the Colorado Desert District Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisory), the Senior Environmental Scientist (Specialist) serves as the District's senior technical specialist and program lead for wildfire management, wildfire preparedness, prescribed fire, fuels management, forest resilience, and Wildfire and Forest Resilience Program (WFRP) activities throughout the Colorado Desert District (CDD), including Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP), Cuyamaca Rancho State Park (CRSP), and Palomar Mountain State Park (PMSP).
Tasks and Duties:
Fire Management, Prescribed Fire, Reforestation, and WFRP (30%)
Develops, evaluates, maintains, and updates District and park-unit fire management plans, prescribed-fire strategies, wildfire-preparedness plans, vegetation-management strategies, fueltreatment priorities, implement schedules, and related technical guidance. Develops and writes prescribed-burn plans addressing project objectives, burn-unit boundaries, fuels, desired fire behavior, weather and fuel-moisture parameters, ignition strategy, holding strategy, contingency resources, communications, smoke management, public and firefighter safety, natural and cultural resource protection, mop-up standards, monitoring, and post-burn evaluation. May serve as the California State Parks Prescribed-Fire Burn Boss for Department-led prescribed-fire operations. Coordinates State Parks objectives, environmental commitments, personnel, equipment, resource-protection measures, and operational responsibilities with CAL FIRE and other participating agencies. Coordinates District wildfire preparedness and may respond to wildland-fire incidents affecting State Park lands as a qualified Resource Advisor (READ/REAF), agency representative, technical specialist, or other appropriately qualified incident position. Provides senior technical advice and project coordination for the Cuyamaca Rancho Park Reforestation Project, including development of planting priorities, reforestation treatment strategies, site preparation, fuels reduction, prescribed-fire integration, forest-health considerations, ecological restoration objectives, and long-term stand resilience. Works with District Natural Resources staff, forestry personnel, contractors, researchers, CAL FIRE, conservation crews, and other partners to evaluate existing and proposed reforestation and fuel reduction areas and determine appropriate sequencing of fuels treatment, prescribed fire, planting, monitoring, and maintenance. Reviews reforestation monitoring information, foresthealth data, fire history, vegetation conditions, treatment effectiveness, tree survival, fuel accumulation, and other available scientific information to advise future planting and prescribedfire decisions. Assists with planning and implementation of prescribed fire within and adjacent reforestation areas to support fuel reduction, site preparation, ecological restoration, forest resilience, and protection of existing and future plantings. Develops annual and multi-year WFRP priorities and evaluates treatment effectiveness, ecological response, wildfire-risk reduction, forest restoration outcomes, program accomplishments, and future management needs through adaptive management.
Project Development, CEQA, Burn Planning, and Smoke Management (20%)
Independently scopes and develops prescribed-fire, pile-burning, air curtain burner, fuelreduction, forest-health, reforestation, ecological-restoration, and wildfire-resilience projects from conceptual planning through implementation and monitoring. Conduct field investigations and prepare project descriptions, treatment prescriptions, maps, alternatives analyses, implementation specifications, cost estimates, monitoring plans, and technical reports. Evaluates whether burn-plan prescriptions and operational requirements have been met; participates in go/no-go decisions; and provides operational leadership throughout ignition, holding, mop-up, patrol, and post-burn activities. For cooperative prescribed burns, may serve as State Parks coIncident Commander, Agency. Administrator representative, Burn Boss, or technical firemanagement lead, as appropriate to the incident organization and employee qualifications
Implementation, NACC, Air Curtain Burner Operations (15%)
Plans, permits, operates, and provides technical oversight for District use of air curtain burners and other approved biomass-disposal burn devices used for fuels reduction, forestry, reforestation, vegetation management, and prescribed-fire preparation. Determines applicable permitting and operating requirements; coordinates burn authorization and air-quality requirements; prepares or assists with required Smoke Management Plans and PFIRS documentation; develops operating procedures, Job Hazard Analyses, and safety plans; trains and coordinates qualified staff; maintains operational and emissions records; and ensures air curtain burner use is conducted in accordance with California State Parks requirements, CAL FIRE requirements, San Diego County Air Pollution Control District requirements, approved environmental documents, and site-specific project conditions. Assists the District with continued development of the contracted Native American Conservation Corps (NACC) as a trained, recurring field workforce supporting fuels reduction, forestry, reforestation, ecological restoration, prescribed-fire preparation, and related WFRP projects. Coordinates proposed workloads, technical expectations, safety requirements, training pathways, field schedules, and workforcedevelopment goals. Works with tribal partners and appropriate District staff to incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge and cultural-burning perspectives into project planning where mutually appropriate and authorized. Tracks treatment acreage, reforestation accomplishments, prescribed-fire accomplishments and WFRP performance measures
Fire Training, Workforce Development, Operational Readiness, and Regional Coordination (15%)
Assists in developing and maintaining a qualified District fire-management workforce. Identifies prescribed fire and wildfire training needs and develops annual training schedules for appropriate State Parks employees. Coordinates classroom and field exercises, refresher training, safety briefings, burn simulations, qualification tracking, and professional-development pathways. Assists with recruitment, hiring, technical evaluation, onboarding, and mentoring of Environmental Scientists, Forestry Technicians, Environmental Services Interns, seasonal employees, and other WFRP-supported fire and forestry personnel. Maintains familiarity with State Fire Training, California State Parks, CAL FIRE, and incident-command qualification requirements applicable to prescribed fire and wildfire assignments and maintains required qualifications appropriate to assigned duties. Coordinates readiness of District fire-management tools, pumps, hose, personal protective equipment, radios, vehicles, ignition equipment, weather instruments, air curtain burn support equipment, and other operational resources with appropriate District staff. Represents the Colorado Desert District in regional fire-management and wildfire-resilience partnerships, including the San Diego County Fire Safe Council, CAL FIRE coordination meetings, prescribedfire collaboratives, tribal coordination forums, WFRP meetings, community-wildfire planning processes, and other applicable working groups.
Contracts and Budget Management (10%)
Develop program and project budgets, cost estimates, work plans, staffing plans, scopes of work, schedules, funding requests, expenditure projections, and accomplishment documentation for District WFRP activities. Assists with preparation and administration of contracts, cooperative agreements, interagency agreements, grants, procurement documents, and other mechanisms supporting prescribed fire, fuels management, forestry, reforestation, ecological restoration, monitoring, and workforce-development activities. Serves as or assists the designated State's Representative for contracted field work and coordinates implementation with State employees, contractors, conservation crews, partner organizations, and technical specialists. Tracks expenditures, schedules, monitoring requirements, contracts, and grant requirements.
Administration and Other Duties (5%)
Prepares technical reports, correspondence, presentations, briefings, maps, databases, afteraction documentation, burn records, budget reports, accomplishment reports, and other administrative materials associated with District fire-management and WFRP activities. Maintains required professional, environmental, safety, prescribed fire, wildfire, and Department training and certifications. Participates in District Natural Resources meetings, interdisciplinary meetings, statewide WFRP coordination, and required Department training.
Other (5%)
Other job-related duties as assigned and necessary for operational continuity. Attend staff meetings and trainings and prepare administrative paperwork to meet operational needs.
