Associate of Applied Science - Natural Resources - Wildland Fire

This degree program prepares graduates to perform fire prevention and educational activities. They serve as crew members or leaders of aerial, engine, or ground wild land fire crews.

Students who successfully complete this program will be able to: • Demonstrate the knowledge of ecosystem management techniques to develop forest management objectives related to fire ecology and restoration, riparian and wildlife management including harvest and silvicultural prescriptions. • Demonstrate knowledge of biological, abiotic and cultural ecosystems as they apply to natural resource management in today’s society. • Utilize the latest technology in forest navigation, mapping, planning and implementation of forest management practices. • Demonstrate skills to accurately collect, analyze and present a variety of natural resources data collected using the latest field techniques for useful outputs. • Demonstrate good verbal and written communications to disseminate information effectively to a variety of audiences. • Utilize knowledge of Fire Behavior, Fireline Leadership and the concepts of Lookouts, Communication, Escape Routes and Safety Zones (LCES) to assess risk, plan and conduct appropriate actions in incident response and self-management. • Demonstrate basic fire suppression tactics in the field, awareness of structure protection in the Urban Interface and the safe use of hand tools, hose lays, pumps and other fire suppression equipment. • Understand and explain the function of the Incident Command System, identify the various positions, explain their functions and how they interact with each other.