Learn about the the Indigenous-led organizing and policy work of FireGeneration Collaborative at firegencollab.org. Image credit: FireGeneration Collaborative

In this post, we welcome guest author Dr. Meredith Jacobson, who completed her PhD studies at the University of Oregon in 2026. Meredith reflects on her just transition-aligned fire research and its relevance and connection with the FireGeneration Collaborative.

As part of my PhD research at University of Oregon, I partnered with FireGeneration Collaborative on a community-based research project that engaged young people in reimagining the wildland fire workforce. Across the western United States, wildland fire work is in a time of transition – wildland firefighting is growing more intense and precarious, and there is increasing investment in proactive stewardship and resilience efforts. However, few spaces exist for frontline workers, practitioners, and youth to shape this transition. In 2024-2025, the FireGen team convened twelve listening circles with young people (ages 16-30) across northern California and Oregon, where participants shared experiences, desires, and ideas for change in the fire stewardship and resilience workforce. Some of our findings are summarized in this report. JTA’s Catalina de Onís provided mentorship and guidance to FireGen throughout the research process. 

Themes in these conversations resonated with many Just Transition Principles, emphasizing the need for workers to have agency and power, to have dignified working conditions, and to engage in work that is guided by Indigenous sovereignty and knowledges. Learning from the Just Transition Alliance and other groups in this space, our team is preparing an article that applies concepts of distributive, procedural, and restorative justice, alongside Indigenous Just Transition Principles from the Indigenous Environmental Network, to think about a platform for mobilizing a just transition in the wildland fire workforce. We believe there is a critical opportunity to build alliances across those working in fire and landscape stewardship, and those working on clean energy transitions that refuse extractivism – especially if fire stewardship is considered an area of “green work” to transition workers into. 

The team welcomes feedback and collaboration! Reach out to Meredith at jacobsme@oregonstate.edu.