Extension Fire Regional Specialist, Oregon State University

The College of Forestry and the Division of Extension and Engagement invites applications for a full-time (1.00 FTE), 12-month, fixed-term, Assistant Professor of Practice position. Reappointment is at the discretion of the Department Head. This position is located in La Grande, Oregon.

This Extension Fire Regional Specialist is in the OSU Extension Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) Fire Program and will have an academic rank of Assistant Professor of Practice. The academic home for this position will be in either the Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management or the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society within the College of Forestry at Oregon State University. Decisions regarding this position are in consultation with the supervision team: Regional Director; Extension Forestry & Natural Resources Program Leader; and Extension Forestry & Natural Resources Fire Program Director.

This position is designed to focus on Extension program development and delivery related to wildland fire science and management in northeastern Oregon, across all land ownerships and vegetation types in Sherman, Gillam, Morrow, Wheeler, Grant, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, and Baker counties. To accomplish this, the position will involve science-based outreach and education, support for community planning and landscape-scale project implementation, and state policy engagement. Key audiences include public forest and rangeland managers, private landowners, rural and wildland-urban interface communities, forest and fire suppression workers, tribes, and fire management specialists. Key topics will include collaborative natural resource management, community wildfire preparedness, wildland fuel reduction and fire management, prescribed burning, timber and range management treatments to build fire resistance and resilience, post-burn recovery, and workforce development. We recognize that wildfire disproportionately affects the security and livelihoods of certain populations, including non-English speakers, people of color, Tribal, and low-income communities. Accordingly, the position will develop programming that involves such populations and accounts for disparities in power and social status.

This position will work directly with a Fire Program Manager, Fire Program Director, and FNR Extension faculty in the Forestry & Natural Resources and Fire Extension Programs; and will also work cooperatively with other faculty and staff at Oregon State University and external partners such as the Oregon Department of Forestry, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Water Conservation Districts, The NE Oregon Small Woodlands Owner Association, The Nature Conservancy, Tribal nations, Sustainable Northwest, Northwest Fire Science Consortium, local fire departments and fire protection districts, and the State Fire Marshal to develop partnerships and facilitate landscape-scale, cross-boundary management projects.