The U.S. Forest Service is highly interested in new technologies and believes there is potential to use Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to support a host of natural resource management activities, including forest health protection, wildfire suppression, research, recreational impacts, and law enforcement.
The agency has been exploring the potential to use UAS for several years, and it has tested different UAS platforms during wildfires, prescribed fires, and in other natural resource management settings.
U.S. Forest Service policy stipulates that UAS must be considered the same as manned aircraft, in terms of acquisition, approval and carding of pilots and aircraft, inspections, maintenance, avionics, training, and operations. However, the agency currently does not have a formal UAS program in place, which is needed to ensure appropriate, safe, and cost-effective use of UAS. The U.S. Forest Service has chartered an interdisciplinary UAS Advisory Group to develop guidance for the use of UAS and associated technologies to support operational needs throughout the agency.
The UAS Advisory Group has been tasked with several items, including conducting a thorough review of agency policy, making policy recommendations, completing a risk assessment, and developing a strategic plan. After the UAS Advisory Group has completed these tasks, U.S. Forest Service leadership will determine the future of a UAS program for the agency.
Source: US Forest Service