Prescribed Burn Crew Member

Download a job description (PDF) here: https://app.box.com/s/vcgvd291q5qvytmor7quuuq3fska5w6v

Position: Prescribed Burn Crew Member (part-time call-when-needed position). Multiple openings are available.  

Location: North Carolina Coastal Plain (community of White Oak, NC). Private property in Bladen County, NC. The worksite is approximately 1.5 hours from Raleigh, 1.3 hours from Wilmington and 40 minutes from Fayetteville, NC. 

Terms of employment: 

• The part-time positions will run approximately 12 weeks from January 2nd to March 31st, 2024. Occasional work may also be available in the early spring (April and May).
• Salary: $15.00 per hour.
• Work opportunities may occur during the weekend as well as during the regular workweek.
• Helpers do not need to be available for every prescribed burn. Accommodations will be made for crew members’ other commitments.

Apply by: Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Position summary: The Prescribed Burn Crew members will participate in the preparation and implementation of prescribed burns on the Bayfields property in Bladen County, NC. These will be occasional positions on a call-when-needed basis, largely dependent on weather conditions that are conducive to prescribed burning. 

Additional forest management work to manage the Bayfields property and other tracts in eastern NC may also be needed. This work may include timber inventory data collection, vegetation trimming, timber stand improvement and boundary line maintenance.

Requirements: 

• Due to the part-time nature of the work, only locally-based applicants (within a reasonable driving distance of ~ 1.5 hours away) are encouraged to apply.
• Ability to perform strenuous work.
• 18 years of age or older with a valid driver’s license with an acceptable driving record.
• Ability to read a map.

Desired qualifications: 

• Completion of at least one training burn serving under the supervision of a qualified burn boss.
• Certification in wildland firefighting or other prescribed fire training. Examples: Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior (S-190), Firefighting Training (S-130).
• Experience operating various types of equipment (two-way radios, chainsaws, backpack blowers, brush cutters, UTVs, portable pumps and drip torches, etc.).
• Ideally, individuals will be able to provide their own personal protective equipment (Nomex pants, Nomex shirt, boots, gloves, hardhats, etc.). Some PPE may be provided if needed. Extra hard hats and some Nomex clothing will be available for use.
• Familiarity with the plants and plant communities of the North Carolina coastal plain.

Property overview: The private property known as Bayfields is managed both for the benefit of wildlife as well as for the production of income from the sustainable harvesting of forest products. It includes a habitat complex of xeric sandhill scrub, longleaf/loblolly/slash pine/pond pine woodland, wet pine flatwoods, Atlantic white cedar plantations, bay forest and planted fields for waterfowl and upland game bird species. The property contains ecologically significant longleaf pine and wetland habitats, and is located within a larger landscape of natural forest, pocosin and managed timber habitats.