August 2023 - 41

occurring in a stream. After the Mullen Fire
burned more than 175,000 acres in the Medicine
Bow-Routt National Forest in 2020,
drones were deployed to monitor the effects
of sedimentation on streams.
Burckhardt is one of about a dozen licensed
drone pilots for Game and Fish. Other pilots
have different job descriptions and challenges,
and they have their own unique ways to use
a drone. John Lund, Game and Fish regional
wildlife supervisor in the Pinedale Region, said
one of the best successes he's had with a drone
is scaring hungry elk away from haystacks on
private land.
" We've had situations where elk damage
haystacks and then spend the day in the willows
in the river bottoms, " he said. " Several
of us would jump on snow machines and go
zigzagging through the willows looking for
them. We'd chase them in circles, sometimes
getting stuck, sometimes breaking sleds. If we
were lucky, we'd move the elk out. Then drones
came along and now we can do that same job
within minutes. It was an eye-opener for how
efficient and useful they are. We find the elk,
get the drone above them and move them out.
I call it my flying border collie. "
Much like a border collie, a drone pilot
needs adequate training to be successful. The
Federal Aviation Administration oversees drone
operation in the United States, and the process
to get certified as a commercial operator
includes training on subjects such as maintaining
visual line of sight, yielding the right
of way and operation in certain airspace. A
student must then earn a passing score on the
Unmanned Aircraft General Exam. A drone
pilot certification can open a world of opportunities
for a wildlife biologist.
" Some of the other projects we've used
drones for is to get a simple birds-eye view of
overall habitat conditions and to get a different
perspective in law enforcement cases, " Lund
said. " We're also exploring using drones for
classifications of elk in certain places, especially
feedgrounds. If the elk are spooky, it can be
hard to count them all. So far we've had some
success using drones for this. "
Game and Fish is also experimenting with
drones to monitor sage grouse leks. " We could
not get to a lot of the leks this year due to snow
levels. But we had some success using a drone, "
Lund said. " We still have to figure out how
close you can get the drone without disturbing
the grouse. It depends on the cameras on the
drone; you need a good zoom. "
John Lund, Game and Fish regional wildlife supervisor in the Pinedale Region, uses a drone to view a department
project near Pinedale. (Photo by Chris Martin/WGFD)
A drone piloted by John Lund captures aerial footage of a fisheries project near Pinedale. (Photo by Chris Martin/WGFD)
Wyoming Wildlife | 41

August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2023

August 2023 - 1
August 2023 - 2
August 2023 - 3
August 2023 - 4
August 2023 - 5
August 2023 - 6
August 2023 - 7
August 2023 - 8
August 2023 - 9
August 2023 - 10
August 2023 - 11
August 2023 - 12
August 2023 - 13
August 2023 - 14
August 2023 - 15
August 2023 - 16
August 2023 - 17
August 2023 - 18
August 2023 - 19
August 2023 - 20
August 2023 - 21
August 2023 - 22
August 2023 - 23
August 2023 - 24
August 2023 - 25
August 2023 - 26
August 2023 - 27
August 2023 - 28
August 2023 - 29
August 2023 - 30
August 2023 - 31
August 2023 - 32
August 2023 - 33
August 2023 - 34
August 2023 - 35
August 2023 - 36
August 2023 - 37
August 2023 - 38
August 2023 - 39
August 2023 - 40
August 2023 - 41
August 2023 - 42
August 2023 - 43
August 2023 - 44
August 2023 - 45
August 2023 - 46
August 2023 - 47
August 2023 - 48
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