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Supplemental Qualification Standard for 

GS-401 Fire Program Management Positions

within

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) - Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS)

Revised as of 07/29/2019

This document supplements the requirements outlined in the General Schedule Qualification 

Standards published by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for General Natural Resources 

Management and Biological Sciences Series, 0401 occupational series and must be used in 

conjunction with those requirements. This document provides guidance, internal to the agencies listed 

above, and it is intended for use when evaluating qualifications for Fire Management Specialist 

positions. Additional or clarifying information can be obtained from OPM’s Operating Manual. This 

internal supplemental qualification standard is not meant to change or substitute for those 

requirements prescribed by OPM.

Basic Qualification Requirements: The OPM Qualification Standard for the 0401 series includes 

requirements as stated below. It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide documentation or proof 

that he or she has met the applicable educational provisions described in this supplemental standard. 

No applicant may be placed in a position covered by the 0401 Qualification Standard for Fire Program 

Management without meeting A or B below. 

A. Degree: Biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry or related 

discipline appropriate to the position.

 -ORB. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, 

plus appropriate experience or additional education which may be defined as at least 24 semester 

hours in biological sciences, natural resources, wildland fire management, forestry, or 

agriculture equivalent to a major field of study, plus appropriate experience or additional 

education that is comparable to that normally acquired through successful completion of 

a full 4-year course of study in the biological sciences, agriculture, or natural resources.

The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the 

applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, 

and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year 

course of study with a major in the appropriate field. In addition to courses in the major and 

related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, 

writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills 

and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, 

creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to 

perform the work of the occupation.
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Documentation of 401 series requirements: OPM revised the Operating Manual for Qualifications 

Standards for General Schedule Positions, Part E.4 – E.4(a) of the General 

Policies and Instructions effective February 15, 2005, to address the “Acceptability of Higher 

Education for Meeting the Minimum Qualification Requirements.” OPM revised the education 

requirement provisions based on Congressional, Department of Education, and OPM concern with the 

employment of people in the Federal government who have college degrees from non- accredited 

sources. Effective February 15, 2005, the issuance of the revised OPM qualifications standard 

restricted qualifying education (primarily) to colleges, universities and institutions. Anyone placed in 

a GS-0401 series position on or after February 15, 2005, had or has met the OPM qualifications 

standard in place as of that date. 

While this revision applies to all GS positions, it has a significant impact on positions covered by the 

Department’s Supplemental Standard for Fire Management Positions under the GS-0401 Fire 

Management series. Prior to February 15, 2005, the OPM Operating Manual for GS Positions allowed 

credits from the USDA Graduate School, or other institutions determined to be equivalent on the same 

basis as study in accredited colleges, universities or institutions. At that time National Wildfire 

Coordinating Group (NWCG) was determined to be an equivalent institution. NWCG qualification 

requirements with the provision that the employee provided appropriate documentation or proof that 

he or she met the applicable educational provisions and the individual was already in the GS-0401 

position as of February 14, 2005. 

When the original supplemental standard for Fire Management Specialist was approved on July 29, 

2002, the United States Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior worked jointly to 

create a draft interpretive guidance for implementation. As a result of the revision, beginning on 

February 15, 2005 Departmental Human Resources Offices can now credit only educational 

coursework that is listed on an official transcript from an accredited institution, college or university1. 

This means that NWCG coursework, and the Technical Fire Management (TFM) coursework that is 

not listed on an official transcript, or equivalent documentation, cannot be used even though prior to 

February 15, 2005, this course work was allowed. 

Employees who met qualification requirements using NWCG courses, without academic transcripts, 

prior to February 15, 2005 and were either appointed, promoted, or reassigned into the GS-0401 by 

that date as Fire Management Specialists are not affected by these changes as long as they remain in 

their current positions. It must be noted that their current status under the GS-0401 standard is limited 

to the position and grade they currently hold. These employees must meet the combination of 

education and experience provisions, along with the positive education requirements for the GS-0401 

series based on the new criteria if they wish to be reassigned, detailed or referred from a merit 

promotion certificate. The only exception would be a “career-ladder” promotion based on the 

competition held prior to February 15, 2005.

 

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In lieu of official transcripts from a college, university or institution, equivalent documentation is defined as a certificate 

or letter of completion signed by a professor, dean, or department head of an accredited college, university or 

institution. This certificate of letter of completion must indicate the name of the accredited college, university or 

institution, the name of the course, the academic level of the course (upper or lower division as indicated by the college, 

university or institution), and the number of semester hours awarded.
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Specialized Experience Requirements: Specialized experience is that which equipped the applicant 

with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties related to fire

program management. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least 

the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. 

See Attachment 1, “Staffing Guidance, GS-401 Fire Management Specialist” for additional 

information on experience and education.

The basic requirements for the type and level of experience and/or education apply to all applicants, 

whether their experience has been in the same occupation as the position being filled or in a related

field. Positions in a related occupational field may differ significantly in the nature of the work and 

must be thoroughly evaluated to determine if the experience is qualifying for a GS-401 fire program 

management specialist. 

Superior academic achievement (S.A.A.): According to the Qualification Standards for General 

Schedule Positions Operating Manual, this provision covers advanced trainee positions that provide 

opportunities for advancement upon attaining required job skills and knowledge, require no prior 

experience, and have work classified at two-grade intervals. The superior academic achievement 

provision applies to both initial appointment and in service placement actions. It is to be used to 

determine eligibility for applicable GS-7 level positions of persons who have completed (or expect to 

complete within 9 months) all the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or 

university.

Graduate Education in Lieu of an Advanced Degree: According to the Qualification Standards for 

General Schedule Positions Operating Manual, care must be exercised in determining credit for postbaccalaureate education. Such education must show evidence of progress through a set curriculum or 

program leading to an advanced degree. It is OPM's intent that 2 years of graduate study be 

substantially equivalent to a master's degree, and 3 years be substantially equivalent to a Ph.D. degree. 

Graduate-level credit should not be given for undergraduate level course work unless it is a requisite 

part of the graduate-level curriculum. If an applicant had to complete under-graduate course work as a 

prerequisite for pursuing an advanced degree, that undergraduate-level study should not be credited as 

graduate education.

Experience and education requirements for GS-7 and above:

In addition to meeting the basic entry qualification requirements, applicants must have specialized 

experience and/or directly related education in the amounts shown in the tables below:
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Grade/ 

Positions

Education Specialized Experience

GS-7 1 year of graduate-level 

education

or

Bachelor’s degree with 

Superior Academic 

Achievement 

One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 

grade level is required in addition to meeting the basic qualification 

requirements. 

Description of GS-05 level work experience to qualify for GS-07: 

Experience must demonstrate an understanding of fire behavior relative 

to fuels, weather, and topography and how fire affects natural and 

cultural resources. Examples of experience may include:

• Performed duties which provided a basic understanding of 

wildland fire management concepts, theories and practices 

including the assessment of fire effects on cultural and/or natural 

resources. 

• Assisted other fire management staffs in the development of 

complex presentations; presented or conducted simple 

presentations of fire management concepts, topics, information.

• Researched technical reports and/or other sources to obtain 

information used by higher graded professionals; applies basic 

formulas to routine calculations; 

• Participated in the development and/or implementation of 

wildland fire management plans. Carried out initial attack 

incident management strategies and tactics to meet the stated 

resource objectives. 

GS-9 Master’s (or equivalent 

graduate degree)

or

2 academic years of 

progressively higher level 

graduate education leading to 

a master's degree 

One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 

grade level is required in addition to meeting the basic qualification 

requirements. 

Description of GS-07 level work experience to qualify for GS-09. 

Experience must demonstrate an understanding of fire behavior relative 

to fuels, weather, and topography and how fire affects natural and 

cultural resources. Examples of experience may include: 

• Wildland fire activities (such as planning and/or implementing 

prescribed fire or managing wildfires) to ensure resource 

objectives can be met from a fire management standpoint.

• Developing and/or implementing initial attack incident 

management strategies and tactics to meet the stated resource 

objectives. 

• Implementing mitigation measures during wildland fire 

activities to protect sensitive habitats, endangered species, 

sensitive plants, or cultural values. 
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GS-11 Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral 

degree 

or

3 academic years of 

progressively higher level 

graduate education leading to 

a Ph.D. degree 

One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 

grade level is required in addition to meeting the basic qualification 

requirements. 

Description of GS-09 level work experience to qualify for GS-11. 

Experience must include Fire Program Management elements such as 

described below:

• Developing, reviewing and evaluating fire management plans 

for ecological soundness, or consistency with land 

management goals and/or potentially adverse impacts to 

cultural and natural resources; 

• Conducting field inspections before and after prescribed or 

wildfires to determine if resource objectives were achieved 

and/or to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken; and,

• Analyzing the ecological role of fire and its use and/or 

exclusion, and smoke management. 

In addition to the Fire Program Management elements listed above, 

appropriate experience must have included EITHER prescribed 

fire/fuels management –OR- fire management operations as described 

below:

Prescribed fire/fuels management: Examples of this type of experience 

may include:

• Professional forest or range inventory methods and 

procedures (e.g., Brown’s planar intercepts for dead and 

down fuels; live fuel loading assessments);

• Analysis of fuel loadings and determination of 

appropriate fuel treatment methods (i.e. prescribed fire, 

mechanical, chemical, or biological treatments);

• Land use planning and environmental compliance;

• Evaluation of prescribed burn plans or fire management 

plans to ensure fire containment is possible and identification 

of appropriate suppression contingencies if fire containment 

is not obtained. 

•

Fire management operations: Experience in analyzing and/or applying 

fire management strategies in at least five of the following activities:

• Mobilization and/or dispatch coordination

• Fire prevention and education

• Training

• Logistics

• Equipment development and deployment

• Fire communication systems

• Suppression and preparedness 

• Aviation
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GS-12 and 

above

Not applicable One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower 

grade level is required in addition to meeting the basic qualification 

requirements. 

NOTE: The supervisor of the position to be filled in consultation with an 

HR Staffing Specialist develops the specialized experience requirement 

when recruiting for positions grades GS-12 and above.

Other Requirements for Fire Positions:

Medical and Physical Requirements: Medical and physical requirements must be met for positions that 

have duties that are of an arduous or hazardous nature. 

Program Oversight and Evaluation: Bureaus and equivalent organizations will include review of the 

Fire Program Management positions under the 0401 series in their internal personnel management 

evaluation programs.