Use of sUAS/UAS to Cost Effectively Monitor Eagle Nesting

Abstract

Dugway Proving Ground (DPG), located in west-central Utah, is a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) test site for chemical and biological defensive testing; it is also home to multiple breeding pairs of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). The presence of an eagle nest has the potential to stop military testing and training due to potential nest disturbance. It is vital to DPG and similar DoD installations to fully understand the status of in-use eagle nests on military lands. Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), it may be possible to obtain accurate status updates of eagle nests on DoD lands more efficiently than can be accomplished on foot. The DPG Team designed a blind study conducting weekly golden eagle nest surveys on DPG to compare the effectiveness of sUAS, UAS, and ground observers.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 31, 2020
Accession Number
AD1189822

Entities

People

  • Jennifer Gillum
  • Kerry Barraclough
  • Robert T. Knight
  • Samantha C. Phillips

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Birds
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Control Systems
  • Cost Models
  • Department Of Defense
  • Detection
  • Engineering
  • Flight Training
  • Global Positioning Systems
  • Low Resolution
  • National Security
  • North America
  • Small Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Facilities
  • Unexploded Ammunition
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Unmanned Vehicles
  • Wildlife

Readers

  • Aerial Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Micro Periodontal Dentistry.
  • Military/Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technology
  • Wetland-Land-Environmental Management.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy