News Release

Chad Fisher to retire after 33-year career

Chad Fisher will be retiring at the end of February 2023.

NPS/C BOEHLE

News Release Date: February 9, 2023

Chad Fisher, who has served as the National Park Service’s (NPS) acting chief for Division of Fire and Aviation since August 2022 has announced his retirement at the end of February 2023. Between March 2021 and August 2022, Chad served as branch chief for NPS Wildland Fire, where he led the team responsible for operations, science and ecology, and planning and budget for the Service’s wildland fire management program.

Fisher began his career at Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in 1990 after graduating Haywood Community College with an associate degree in Fish and Wildlife Management. He spent the early ‘90s working at the refuge during the spring and fall fire seasons and the summer season on the Payette National Forest in Idaho. Chad was a member of the Asheville Interagency Hotshot Crew (IHC) in 1993 and the NPS’s Alpine IHC in 1994. He returned to school at University of Montana (UM) in 1995 ultimately earning a Bachelor of Science in Resource Conservation. He worked as a smokejumper in McCall, Idaho and a helitack crew leader for the interagency Lolo National Forest/Salish Kootenai Tribe while attending UM. Chad worked on the Great Smoky Mountains prescribed fire crew (Wildland Fire Module) before receiving his first career seasonal appointment on the Lewis and Clark National Forest. He returned to Great Smoky Mountains National Park as the assistant module leader and module leader before moving to Boise as a training specialist for the NPS. In the mid-2000s Chad was the national fire training specialist for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service then returned to the NPS as the wildland fire safety program manager. He received the 2013 Paul Gleason Lead by Example Award for his work with the Dutch Creek mitigations. In 2017 Chad officially became the program lead for NPS Wildland Fire Operations.

In retirement, Chad will spend more time with family, and will also continue to enjoy running, mountain biking, and sitting by the backyard firepit.