IA DNR: DNR Employment Opportunities

Name: Gail
Field: Forestry Bureau
Location: Ames

A trainee uses the hand pump to an Indian pack, a galvanized water canteen, to spray the water that will help control the burn path of a prescribed fire.

"I believe my work can make a difference in people's lives," says Gail Kantak, who became the first female Fire Supervisor in Iowa and in the Northeastern Region of the United States in 2000. She is currently one of only two in the nation.

"At the time that the Fire Supervisor position became vacant, I had been involved with regional and national wildfire agencies. I ultimately believed that Iowans had a need and a desire to return fire to the landscape, to learn to do it safely and how to put it out! I took it as a personal challenge to see what I could do to work toward a safer fire-use program, while continuing to support the long-standing fire suppression programs that were already established."

Gail's many responsibilities include training, and requesting grant funding from the US Forest Service and equipment for fire departments and similar agencies. She inventories and tracks excess military equipment suitable for wildfire suppression which is loaned to small fire departments at no cost through a federal partnership. "This partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and General Services Administration is important because it brings federal dollars into Iowa. The program supports the volunteer fire departments that suppress the majority of Iowa's wildland fires-providing valuable skill building opportunities, networking, training and information. All of these things allow volunteer fire departments to do their jobs more safely, with the proper tools and with the support of national partners."

This large red truck is called an R-9 refueler. It originally came from the Air Force and has been on loan to the city of St. Mary's. At right: A trainee at a prescribed fire training course in Sioux City checks the diesel and gasoline mixture levels in the drip torches that will be used to set the fire for a controlled burn.

"I believe in the folks I'm working with to support and protect our natural resources. I value the relationships that I have built throughout the many agencies, organizations and committees I deal with."

Gail has worked in forestry positions since she was an undergraduate working on a Christmas tree farm. She started with the DNR in 1988 after completing a master's thesis on Timber Inventory, Growth Estimation and Economic Review. In 1993 Gail received the DNR and the State of Iowa Employee of the Month Award. In 2004 she received the Northeastern Forest Fire Supervisors Award for outstanding service in the Forest Fire Control Program in the Northeastern area of the United States.