Six-Word Lessons for Drone Pilots and Outdoor Enthusiasts: 100 Lessons to Make Drone Flights Safe, Ethical and Green for Wildlife and Humans

By Alicia Amerson

100 lessons to reduce drone disturbance to wildlife and green the drone footprint. Both drone pilots and outdoor enthusiasts can reduce their individual impact. This book will help you create drone flight plans and protocols that you can share with potential clients to show you are not only a skilled drone pilot, but care about drone stewardship, wildlife, and humanity. This book is filled with easy to implement lessons to help you create an environmentally-friendly drone project. Using simple steps to conduct a wildlife assessment you will generate a new flight plan, expand your environmental network, and green your drone footprint.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alicia Amerson
• Release date: Jun 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463180655

Alicia Amerson

Alicia Amerson is a marine biologist, science communicator, drone pilot, and entrepreneur. She works to protect global biodiversity and empower communities through technology, science, and art. She is the founder of Alimosphere, a woman-owned business focused on reducing drone disturbance to wildlife while promoting the use of drones for conservation research. Alicia earned a Master's degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She is a certified PMP project manager with over 10,000 hours and 15 years of professional success in environmental and technology-based projects.

Book preview

Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Conservation Culture for All Drone Pilots

Sustaining Benefits, Meeting Challenges, Seizing Opportunities

Guidelines: The Framework for Wildlife Protection

Wildlife Assessment in Ten Simple Steps

Marine Wildlife Disturbance Behavior and Guidelines

Drone Flight Project Management for Conservation

Seabird Disturbance Behavior and the Guidelines

Pinniped Disturbance Behavior and the Guidelines

Dolphin Disturbance Behavior and the Guidelines

Sirenia Disturbance Behavior and the Guidelines

Large Whale Disturbance Behavior and Guidelines

Four Steps for Green Control Stations

Enroll and Take the STRIVE Plan Course

References

About the Six-Word Lessons Series

Introduction

If not now, when? I created this book to help drone pilots reduce disturbance to wildlife and green the drone footprint when they fly drones. Research has shown there are negative impacts to wildlife when drones are flown near animals. As the technology becomes cheaper and more accessible, more people are buying drones and instantly flying them without training or certification. I created a six-step process to walk drone pilots through the drone flight planning process to create flight plans that benefit humanity and respect wildlife. This process is called the STRIVE Plan and I have outlined each of the steps in this book.

To introduce my fascination with this topic, let’s go back a few years. After returning home from flying drones for a large whale research project in Australia, I noticed the uptick in the use of drones along the California coastline. I questioned how the increase in drone flights would impact wildlife and what literature or guidelines were available to help drone pilots understand their impact to wildlife. As a project manager I understand the necessity of proper planning for safety and quality. I started to investigate the access that drone pilots had to flight planning tools and whether these tools included wildlife or environmental considerations. After finding minimal resources for drone pilots to include these topics in their flight planning process I asked, What can I do to help?

To help drone pilots and outdoor enthusiasts reduce their individual impact I created this book of 100 lessons to create a code-of-conduct around stewardship. I encourage all drone pilots to adopt protocols that are safe, ethical and green.

In 2014 I began researching the existing operational guidelines created to sustainably watch gray whales from boats in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. As part of my master's research I was keen to observe boat proximity to whales using a drone. I quickly realized two obstacles. The first one was at the time the U.S. had not approved FAA Part 107 drone pilot certification program and secondly, to fly over marine mammals all researchers must obtain an approved government