With drone research advancing at a fast pace, many are taking note of the beneficial effects that they can have on wildlife conservation. For example, Jeff Kerby has used drones to examine the effects of climate and weather on plant and animal interactions.
"Drones are simply a new tool that help streamline traditional data gathering needs," Kerby said. "With a little training and the appropriate usage, drones can save hundreds of human-hours of work, allowing this time to be spent elsewhere."
In fact, a new study by Monash University researchers found that drones are actually more effective at monitoring wildlife than humans.
Despite the increased interest in drones shown by researchers, the U.S. is continuing to explore usage regulations. The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners just set a rule this week to outlaw the use of drones over state game lands and waters, but they are providing the option to request special use permits for certain regions of game lands.
While this proposal was made with the intention of protecting wildlife from drones harassing animals and flying too close to them, researchers such as Kerby use drones to study wildlife.
"I have no problem with regulation in this area, in fact I even promote it, as long as it is informed regulation and allows a streamlined and reasonable process for special use permits, particularly for research and conservation groups," he said. "I would even propose that there is a means for informed and responsible hobbyists to get an exemption. The specifics are worth carefully thinking through now, before precedent is set and regulatory perspectives are ossified."
Despite these good intentions, the game commission claims that unintended drone use is disturbing wildlife.
"This increase has unfortunately resulted in unintended uses on lands designated as state game lands that compromise the purposes for which these lands were acquired," the commission said. "These activities range from degradation of the natural and scenic values of these lands up to actual wildlife disturbance and harassment activities. The commission is also concerned that use of these devices on state game lands may expand to interference with lawful hunting and trapping activities in the future."
"These raise complex questions, but my perspective is that we need regulation, and not a blanket ban," Kerby said. "Carefully considered regulation is not always the easiest solution to a complex question, but it is the right solution."
However, a 2015 study in Current Biology revealed that drones flying above black bears caused a spike in their heart rates, and people like Jake Slyder, Geographic Information Systems manager at Powdermill Nature Reserve, believe that even those like Kerby might be doing more harm to wildlife than good.
"People talk about using these for wildlife surveys, and I think there are good applications for that, but even in doing that, they might be stressing the animals out more than people realize," he said. "In this case, the purpose of game lands is to protect wildlife and foster hunting, so I think (the game commission) has to make the best decision for those missions."
