David Jones

David Jones is the Fire Management Specialist at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge; a division of the Department of Interior. He oversees all Fire Management activities for U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service lands in Illinois. He began his natural resource career in 1999, working for the McHenry County Conservation District in northern IL. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Forestry from Southern Illinois University in 2003. While attending college he worked for the Shawnee National Forest as a Forestry Technician and was a founding member of the Southern Illinois University Fire Dawgs. In 2003, he accepted his first fire position at Crab Orchard NWR as a seasonal firefighter. Within a year, he landed his first permanent position with the USFWS at Big Oaks NWR in Indiana as a Fire Technician, and worked there until 2014. While there, he developed his reputation as a team player and leader.

Dave returned to Crab Orchard NWR in 2014 with a passion to excel the fire program at Crab Orchard NWR and throughout the state for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. He looks to implement as much prescribed fire as possible, both safely and effectively, by leveraging partnerships and looking for innovative solutions. The program is now stronger than ever, with 5,088 acre season in the spring of 2022 at Crab Orchard NWR. Prior to Dave’s time at Crab Orchard, the refuge averaged 363 acres a year of prescribed fire treatments. He has traveled all over the country fighting wildfires and performing controlled burns. He is qualified as a Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 2 and Taskforce Leader. He has been a burn boss for approximately 160 prescribed burns, and been on over 600 incidents nationally.  

He is an avid supporter of training opportunities across boundaries for firefighter and collateral staff.   

Outside of work, he enjoys hunting, vehicle restoration, construction and spending time with family and friends.