Drone the NERRS: Lessons Learned Using Uncrewed Aerial Systems to Assess Coastal Wetland Habitats

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Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), also known as drones, offer a lower cost, less invasive alternative to traditional ground-based monitoring while providing higher resolution images than satellite imagery. “Drone the NERRS,” a science transfer project, evaluated the efficacy of a standardized UAS wetland monitoring protocol for assessing and monitoring emergent vegetation in a range of biogeographic regions across the NERRS.

The project lowered barriers to UAS-based monitoring, supported the development of a community of practice, and encouraged UAS pilot certification for more reserve staff. Applying the protocol across different experience levels, airframes, and software used for mission planning and analysis yielded unique experiences for staff at each participating reserve. These experiences enabled staff to provide feedback on the protocol while also informing other reserves interested in using UAS. In this webinar, the project team will share about their experience growing a System-wide UAS community of practice, as well…