Jennifer Hinckley, -herstory (24961697024)

Name: Jennifer Hinckley

Title: Prescribed Fire Specialist

Duty station: St Marks National Wildlife Refuge at North Florida National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Amount of time worked in public service: 17 years

How much of this at USFWS? 13 years

Female Conservation Hero or Mentor? Why?

Amelia Earhart, a pioneer in aviation. She was a leader in encouraging women into aviation.

Margaret Cummings Lewis, my grandmother, who expected me to stand up for myself and others and do my best in everything I am connected to everyday.



When you began your career, did you ever see yourself working for the USFWS?

I did not understand the Federal Government system for positions, therefore I did not know that the USFWS existed. A lifelong friend who was working for USFWS sent me an advertisement for a job and told me to apply because the US Fish and Wildlife Service is where I should be working in wildland fire.

The mission of the USFWS is “Working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people” How do you contribute to this mission?

I contribute every day to the USFWS mission by using wildland fire as a tool in the right place at the right time for the right reason. Even though I am a wildland fire fighter, my specialization is prescribed fire. Prescribed fire is using fire as tool on the landscape to reduce fuel (vegetation) loads therefore reducing risk and mimicking natural fires on in the ecosystems and habitats that are fire dependent.

It takes a special person to dedicate their lives to public service. Why did you choose this path?

I don’t think I had a choice in this path on working in public service since my desire was to work in wildland fire.

What is a special memory you have of working at the USFWS?

What do you like best about working for the USFWS?

The most rewarding part of being a prescribed fire specialist in the National Wildlife Refuge System is being able to use fire as the right tool in the right place for the right reason and getting the results that only fire in a fire-dependent habitat can give. Those results can be beautiful wild flowers, homes for the local species, increasing a habitat in an area that is losing habitat off the refuge so that threatened and endangered species can survive.

Another major rewarding part of working in wildland fire is the people. I am not only a part of a wildland fire crew on a national wildlife refuge complex; I am part of a highly functioning prescribed fire management team in the Southeast and an Interagency Management Team that has worked nationally and internationally.

The current most challenging part of working in wildland fire is dealing with budgetary issues.

A challenging part of working in wildland fire is the time away from home. Some years, I have spent many months on the road, burning and fighting wildfires across the country.



An exciting part of my wildland fire career is that no day is the same and NEVER is any prescribed fire or wildfire, the same.