News Release

Jeff Scott, NPS Program Lead for Fire Planning and Budget, Retires After a 27-Year Career

Jeff Scott retires after seven years as the Program Planning and Budget Lead for the NPS Branch of Wildland Fire.

NPS

News Release Date: December 7, 2015

Contact: Tina Boehle, [phone]

Jeff Scott, the NPS Program Lead for Fire Planning and Budget, retired November 30, 2015 after 27 years of federal service. Jeff was the lead for NPS wildland fire and aviation planning and budget programs since 2008. Before coming to work with the NPS, Jeff worked as a Professional Forester and Assistant District Forester for Colorado State Forest Service from 1984 to 1991. In 1991 Jeff began work with BLM in Richfield, Utah as a Fire Control Officer and in 1995 became a Fire Management Officer for the Salt Lake District BLM. In 2000 Jeff ventured into the fire budget realm when he became the Incident Business Specialist and Budget Lead for Utah BLM. In 2005 Jeff became the Fire Management Specialist in the BLM's national Budget and Evaluation office for Fire and Aviation Management where he eventually served as the BLM's acting Chief of Budget and Evaluation before moving to the Park Service's wildland fire Program Lead for Planning and Budget in 2008.

During Jeff's tenure with the NPS he was responsible for managing a wildland fire and aviation budget of more than $100 million annually, and helped guide the NPS and the interagency wildland fire community through some challenging fire seasons. He initiated a variety of program initiatives within the NPS, including the wildland fire workforce realignment, Planning Data System (PDS) development, the Strategic Allocation Model (SAM), STARFire risk and treatment assessment, streamlined fire planning processes, and spatial fire management planning. During his tenure he has chaired or participated on many intra and interagency committees, boards, and project teams both in his professional career and as a Board Trustee for a non-profit, charitable organization. From 2008-2013 he was the chair of the Department of the Interior Wildland Fire Management Budget Team.

Jeff has been recognized with a number of awards and honors throughout his career. Upon his retirement, he received the Superior Service award from the National Park Service. He is grateful for the honor to work with so many great individuals in the NPS and the wildland fire community. Jeff stated, "I owe much of my career success to the people I worked with both within and outside NPS. I am especially thankful for the exceptional staff that I had the honor of having as my employees. When you have great staff and provide them the freedom and support to succeed, it is amazing what you can accomplish." In retirement, Jeff looks forward to working in his organic garden, raising chickens, and continuing his work as the Treasurer of the board of trustees for the Idaho Dance Theatre.

Mark Koontz, currently the NPS Operations Program Lead for Wildland Fire, will be the successor in the Fire Program Planning and Budget Program Lead position Jeff vacates.