Recognized USFS Saw Program

A USFS-recognized Saw Program

To operate saws on National Forest System lands, a sawyer must complete a Nationally Recognized Sawyer Training Course approved by the Forest Service. Crew 30 aligns its program to that framework so members can train, evaluate, and work to the same language used by federal partners. As a recognized USFS saw program begining in the Spring of 2026, Clackamas Fire is able to teach, evaluate, and ultimately credential (internal and external) individuals within the USFS National Sawyer Database.

Approved training:

NWCG S-112 / S-212 / S-312 faller series and the Forest Service Developing Thinking Sawyers curriculum are the nationally recognized courses. Both emphasize risk management, human factors, and sawyer judgment — not just bar-and-chain mechanics.

Aligned credentialing:

USFS A / B / C sawyer levels map to NWCG Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Faller (FAL3 / FAL2 / FAL1). Fireline qualifications are felling and bucking. Bucking-only cards are not valid for fireline operations.

Why it matters:

Crew 30 is a Type 2 IA hand crew that builds line, fires, and works hazard trees at home and on national assignment. Being a recognized saw program keeps our people interchangeable with partner modules, expands capacity and stays true to complexity limitations.

Standards we train to:

NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212
Forest Service National Crosscut and Chainsaw Program
FSM 2358 saw policy.

Sawyer and swamper read the tree together before the cut. Waldo Canyon Fire. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock (public domain).

Safety is the program

Saw work has the potential to kill and maim even competent people. Crew 30 treats every cut as a risk decision. Certification is permission to begin learning under supervision. It is not a license to take any tree. Chainsaw operations rank as one of the most dangerous processes personnel perform, and Crew 30 strive for the highest safety standards.

Think first - OHLECC

Size-up. Lean, defect, widow-makers, slope, fire, people, and escape routes. A 'walk away can' be a successful operational decision.

Work as a pair

A sawyer without a swamper is understaffed. The swamper owns the work area, traffic, tools, and the second set of eyes. Either person can shut the cut down if a hazard develops.

PPE is not optional

Helmet, eye and hearing protection, gloves, chaps, boots, and nomex appropriate to the assignment. Dull chain and missing PPE are both stop-work items.

Complexity matches the qualification

A-level / FAL3 sawyers work the least complex situations, or the next level only under immediate supervision of a B or C qualified to supervise the work. We do not “stretch it” because the line is moving.

Mop-up bucking on the Ferguson Fire, Sequoia National Forest crew. USDA Forest Service photo (public domain / USFS Region 5).

Learning culture

The Forest Service named the curriculum Developing Thinking Sawyers on purpose.. We would rather have a humble FAL3 than a reckless card-chaser.

How we teach

Classroom and field time before anyone is turned loose on the line.
Position task books signed for observed performance, not attendance.
Coaching in real fuels: brushing, limbing, bucking, then felling.
After-action reviews that talk about judgment, not just production.
Senior sawyers own the next generation. Teaching is part of the job.

What we expect

Ask before you cut. Pride does not sharpen a chain.
Maintain the saw. A neglected saw is a leadership problem.
Debrief close calls. Near-misses are free training if we use them.
Stay current. A stale qualification is not a qualification.

output.pdf

Skills progression

People move up when they demonstrate judgment at the current level, not when a season ends. The tables below are the national map. Crew 30 uses them as the ladder, not a race.

FAL3 · A

Basic Faller

Apprentice. Least-complex felling, bucking, brushing, and limbing. Works under immediate supervision of a B or C when complexity rises. Entry training: S-112 Introduction to Chainsaw Operations (or legacy S-212) plus the Basic Faller task book.

FAL2 · B

Intermediate Faller

Independent work in moderately complex situations. May saw at the next level only under a C qualified to supervise. Training path moving to S-212 Intermediate Faller and the FAL2 task book.

FAL1 · C

Advanced Faller

High-complexity operations. May work independently and direct FAL2 and FAL3 sawyers. This is a multi-year skill, not a course certificate. Advanced training aligns with S-312 as the national curriculum finishes that transition.

Fireline work requires felling-and-bucking certification. Evaluations use current USFS / NWCG forms and a qualified evaluator.

Fireline saw work

On assignment the saw is a line-construction tool. Brushing, limbing, bucking, and selected falling open the line so hand tools and firing can finish the job. Speed without a plan is how modules get hurt.

Line construction

Clear a working corridor. Keep the swamper and the rest of the squad out of the bar path. Do not outrun the diggers. A saw that gets too far ahead is a saw that has left its cover.

Mop-up and hold

Bucking hot logs, dropping smoldering snags when complexity allows, and opening access for water and hand tools. Burned timber hides defect. Treat every black tree as a different problem than a green one.

Project work at home

Fuels reduction around Clackamas Fire District is where currency is built. Same standards, same PPE, same rules. Project days are training days with a product at the end.

Brushing behind structures on the Eaton Fire. Forest Service photo by Ben Cossel (public domain).

Hazard-tree work on the Brewer Fire, Central Oregon. Forest Service photo by Andrew Avitt (public domain).

Felling operations

Felling is the highest-consequence skill on the crew. We do not publish cutting recipes on a public page. We do publish the conditions under which Crew 30 will put a saw on a standing tree.

Before the bar touches wood - Procedual Felling: Objective,Hazards, Lean/Binds, Escape path, Cut-plan, Complexity

Who is qualified for this tree, this lean, this fire environment?
Is there a felling plan, an escape path, and a clear hole?
Where are the other people, other hazards?
What is the no-go if the tree does not commit?

During and after

One saw. One verbalized plan. No spectators in the work circle.
Swamper watches top, fire, and people — not the cut for entertainment.
Hung-up trees are a new incident, not a continuation of the last plan.
Debrief the cut. Good trees and bad trees both teach.

Public note. This page is a program description. It is not instruction in how to fell a tree. Formal field evaluation under a qualified sawyer evaluator is the only place Crew 30 teaches those skills.

References and contacts

USFS National Crosscut and Chainsaw Program — fs.usda.gov National Saw Program
NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212
NWCG position standards and task books: FAL3, FAL2, FAL1
Crew 30 information — cfwfm.com/crew-30-information
Wildland Division — wildlandfire@clackamasfire.com
Interest card — Crew 30 interest form

This page describes Crew 30’s saw-program intent and the national standards it follows. It does not certify an individual, replace a field evaluation, or authorize saw use. Qualifications are issued only after approved training and a documented evaluation. Photographs are U.S. government public-domain images and are not photographs of Crew 30 members unless separately noted.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse