USGS Team Flies Drones for Oregon BLM Forestry Research (14800838293)

Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or aerial drones, flew for the first time to assist in BLM Oregon research this summer. The USGS drone team, based in Colorado, was established in 2008 and has been flying a variety of scientific missions ever since: abandoned mine mapping; waterfowl population estimates; and the monitoring of prescribed burns, to name a few.
On July 29, 2014, the USGS team gave a demonstration at the Horning Seed Orchard in Colton, Oregon, where they were attempting to increase the speed and accuracy of cone counts from above the trees.
Both the fixed-wing Raven and T-Hawk drones flown are used military materials obtained by the Department of the Interior.
Watch the YouTube video from the demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfB2w_8u2L8&list=UUqNPQV287B9CXG8XZo7URag" www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfB2w_8u2L8&list=UUqNPQV287B9...</a>
For more information on the National Unmanned Aircraft Systems office: http://uas.usgs.gov/index.shtml?current=1" uas.usgs.gov/index.shtml?current=1</a>
A full story will be featured in the next issue of BLM Oregon’s Northwest Passage magazine: http://www.blm.gov/or/nwpassage/index.php" www.blm.gov/or/nwpassage/index.php</a>

All photos captured by Michael Campbell and Matt Nobles