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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017
ODFW deploys drones for first time during elk surveys
From their vantage point
high atop the Oregon Coast
Range, Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife biologist
Herman Biederbeck and two
researchers from Oregon State
University can see almost for-
ever as the first rays of sunlight
peek over the top of Saddle
Mountain in the distance to the
east.
Below is the Young’s River
basin and a patchwork of thou-
sands of acres forest land inter-
spersed with clear-cuts — ideal
elk habitat.
The researchers, Jonathan
Burnett and Cory Garms, both
Ph.D.
students
in
the
Department
of
Forest
Engineering, Resources and
Management at OSU, want to
find out whether unmanned
aerial systems (UAS) or
“drones” can be used effective-
ly to count elk in this kind of
terrain.
Preliminary results of field
trials conducted on the North
Coast near Astoria suggests
that they can.
“UAS technology has prom-
ise to be relatively inexpensive
and safe — much safer — than
the way we survey elk now,
which is generally from a heli-
copter,” said Biederbeck, a
wildlife biologist with ODFW
for 38 years.
This year’s field trial in
Clatsop County is the first time
that UAS technology has been
used to count elk in Oregon,
although ODFW has used
drones to survey salmon
spawning in rivers and as well
as cormorant abundance along
the Oregon coast.
ODFW conducts yearly elk
population/composition sur-
veys to make sure that age and
sex ratios stay healthy.
“It’s part of our mission to
monitor these populations to
ensure they are being well man-
aged for the public,” said
Biederbeck.
This year drones were used
in two field trials, one in
January and another in March.
The first tested the drone cam-
era’s ability to capture imagery
that allows biologists to classi-
fy elk by age and sex. A later
field trial tested the aircraft’s
ability to measure elk densities
in forest stand types, another
useful metric for managing elk.
ODFW currently contracts
helicopters at a cost of $1,000
to $1,100 an hour to do this job.
The agency staffs them with
ODFW employees who look
for and document elk in flights
conducted year after year over
the same survey units for statis-
tical accuracy.
Between
manned
and
unmanned, each aerial system
has its advantages and disad-
vantages,
according
to
Biederbeck, who notes that
with a helicopter observers can
view great expanses of land-
scape in real time by scanning
their eyes in front and to the
sides of the airship.
Crew members can also ask
the pilot to reposition the
machine for a better look at ani-
mals, which can be especially
helpful when it comes to distin-
guishing elk calves from adults.
In addition, helicopters are
much heavier and more power-
ful than drones and can fly in a
wider range of weather condi-
tions.
The down side is unless they
have a hand-held camera on
board, observers only get one
chance to classify elk — right
then and there.
In addition to their relatively
low cost, drones have the
advantage of recording images
that can be reviewed on a com-
puter back at the office. Human
safety is one major benefit of
the UAS.
People can get hurt or even
killed in a helicopter. For
example, two ODFW biolo-
gists, Holly Huchko and Eric
Himmelreich, suffered broken
bones but fortunately survived
a helicopter crash a few years
ago while conducting fish sur-
veys on the Umpqua River in
southern Oregon.
The drones used in this
year’s experiment on the North
Coast cost about $1,700 apiece,
according to Burnett, although
the thermal sensor adds another
$3,500 to the cost of the sys-
tem.
As darkness gives way to
dawn, the first of two drones is
prepared for flight. It is jet
black in color, with flashing red
night lights on the sides, and
thermal imaging equipment on
board. Its job is to detect elk
hidden in the trees by keying in
on their heat signatures with a
heat-sensitive infrared camera.
A second drone — white,
and equipped with a high defi-
nition video camera — will fly
as soon as the black one gets
back from its mission.
The video camera is mount-
ed on a gimbal that lets the
drone operator tilt, turn, and
pan the camera with a joystick
that can also steer the aircraft.
After a turn at the end of one
run along the serpentine-
shaped run, the camera swivels
from pointed directly at the
ground to straight ahead toward
the next GPS waypoint. The
recording is set to overlap
video from each pass so the
video from each stretch can be
“stitched together” with imag-
ing software to so that every
inch of the survey area is pic-
tured.
The drones can fly essential-
ly the same survey areas as hel-
icopter in a single flight,
according to Biederbeck, but
likely take more passes because
cameras do not have the same
field of view as humans, who
are able to scan the whole hori-
zon and turn quickly from side
to side with a simple twist or
turn of the head.
With takeoff just minutes
away, Burnett double-checks
the flight path glowing from a
laptop in the back of his SUV.
A yellow line on the computer
screen shows the exact course
the aircraft will follow, a series
of switchbacks. The route is
made by programming GPS
coordinates into the drone’s
navigation system ahead of
time.
Each flight lasts about 30
minutes, and the drone follows
GPS coordinates automatically,
although the pilot can override
the navigation software to
assume control the vehicle
manually.
FAA rules require a designat-
ed spotter be present and main-
tain visual contact with the air-
craft throughout the flight. The
aircraft are battery-powered
and are programmed to return
to base automatically whenever
they detect their batteries are
getting low.
This technology is a poten-
tially powerful tool for con-
ducting scientific inquiry,
according to Burnett, although
many regulatory barriers to
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Tickets available for SportsTown Awards dinner
The
second-annual
SportsTown Awards, presented
by the Eugene, Cascades and
Coast Sports Commission will
be held Thursday, June 1, with
returning master of ceremonies
Jordan Kent.
The dinner and recognition
night will be at the Valley
River Inn in Eugene. Awards
categories include Male and
Female Student Athlete of the
Year, Athletic Trainer of the
Year, Athlete with Heart,
Sustainable Sports Event of the
Year, Inspirational Coach of
the Year, Sports Promotion of
the Year, Fan of the Year,
Mascot of the Year and the
SportsTown Legacy Award.
The ceremony will introduc-
ing a new interactive Student
Nominee Recognition Exhibit
sponsored by FastSigns and
Long’s Meat Market.
Tickets are on sale now and
are available for purchase at
SportsTownAwards.com.
Tickets are $35 per person
and include admission to the
event, complementary soft
drinks and small plate appetiz-
ers.
For more information, con-
tact Janis Ross, Executive
Director Eugene, Cascades and
Coast Sports Commission,
541-743-8753 or email her at
Janis@EugeneCascadesCoast.
org.
effective
implementation
remain,
notably
Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA)
rules.
“Throughout this study there
have been two major regulatory
limitations to assessing the true
cost-benefit of using UAS for
elk survey,” said Burnett. One
limitation is the current 400-
foot altitude ceiling. The other
is the requirement to maintain
line of sight on the aircraft dur-
ing its flight.
Higher altitudes and greater
coverage area on each flight
would translate to fewer flights
and lower odds of counting the
same animals more than once,
according to Burnett.
“This technology demonstra-
tion is one small step in bridg-
ing the gap between what we
currently can do and what we
ultimately want to do,” he said.
Biederbeck and Burnett
expect to extend this research
by seeking FAA waivers and
perhaps acquiring a fixed-wing
UAS with up to three-hour
flight endurance that may be
equipped with both thermal and
color cameras.
“There is more operational
technology out there. We’ll
have to see how costs and FAA
regulations affect our ability to
use them,” said Biederbeck.
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Oregon Hatchery Board
seeks two new members
ALSEA — The Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife is seeking two new
members to represent the
agricultural industry and the
Columbia River gillnet
salmon fishery on the Oregon
Hatchery Research Center
Board.
The successful candidates
will each serve a three-year
term.
Candidates must submit an
application and provide three
references by June 30, 2017.
The ODFW Director will
appoint the new members in
the summer of 2017.
The application is available
at www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/
OHRC/recruitments.asp.
The board is charged with
advising the OHRC Director
on operational, budget and
research priorities at the
research center.
As directed by Oregon
House Bill 3441, the OHRC
Board is required to include
12 members representing a
variety of groups including
agriculture and Columbia
River commercial fishing.
Additional details about the
Board’s responsibilities can
be found in HB 3441, avail-
able at www.dfw.state.or
.us/fish/OHRC/docs/2013/HB
_3441.pdf.
The OHRC is a cooperative
research project between
ODFW and OSU.
The center’s mission is to
develop an understanding of
the mechanisms that may cre-
ate differences between hatch-
ery and wild fish, and devise
ways to reduce and manage
the differences so that hatch-
eries can be used responsibly
in the conservation and man-
agement of Oregon’s native
fish.
For more information about
the OHRC Board or how to
apply,
contact
Kerrie
Tarkinton at kerrie.j.tarkinton
@state.or .us or call 503-947-
6226.
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The
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The free public tours are
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Tours
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Tours occur daily (except
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Tours during special events
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