News Release
News Release Date: April 30, 2020
Contact: Tina Boehle, 208.387.5875
Susan McClendon, a GIS specialist with the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) High Desert District in Pinedale, WY, has been selected as a data management specialist for the National Park Service’s Branch of Wildland Fire.
She will be working with the Wildland Fire Management Research, Development & Application Program (WFM RD&A), an interagency workgroup comprised of fire application specialists, fire management specialists, and data management specialists, who provide a tangible link between fire management and research. Staff with WFM RD&A represent the five federal land management agencies: the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Some of Susan’s specific focus areas will be working on data acquisition, coordination, and analysis needs of the interagency wildland fire community and meeting data and system development needs for the Wildland Fire Decision Support System (WFDSS) and Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System (IFTDSS).
Susan has undergraduate degrees in Computer Science and Management Information Systems, and graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2011 with a Master’s degree in Geographic Information Systems, specializing in Disaster Management. She spent eight years as a GIS Developer for the State of Wyoming at the Wyoming Department of Transportation and two years at the University of Wyoming supporting the WY Geographic Science Center. For the past five years, she has worked for NPS and BLM as a GIS Specialist supporting a variety of projects and providing end user support.
Andrew Bailey, who leads the team Susan will be on, stated, “The Wildland Fire Management RD&A is extremely excited to have Susan join us. She has a great deal of experience working on data management projects with stakeholders from many disciplines and crafting solutions that balance competing interests to meet multiple objectives. Her expertise, skill, and interest in data management and wildland fire make her a great fit for our team as we strive to provide exemplary fire science integration and wildland fire management support to management agencies and personnel.”
Susan will be working from Grand Teton National Park in Moose, WY where her partner also works. In their downtime, they enjoy fishing, camping, live music and skiing.
Last updated: April 30, 2020