In a fight against tick-borne illnesses on the Island, the nonprofit Tick Free Martha’s Vineyard (Tick Free MV) plans to launch an Island-wide aerial deer survey next week.
The survey, running between Feb. 15 and March 7, will use thermal drone technology to collect baseline data for the Island’s deer population size and distribution.
A main goal of Tick Free MV is to target the abundant deer population, a frequent host for ticks, and eventually reduce the prevalence of tick-borne conditions on the Island. A press release from the recently established nonprofit said that accurate data on Island deer are “foundational input for informed public health and land-management decision-making” when the Island boasts some of the highest rates of tick-borne conditions, both diseases and allergies, in the country.
“This survey is about collecting reliable data,” Virginia Barbatti, executive director of Tick Free MV, said in the release. “Understanding how large our deer population has become and where they cluster is an essential step in having informed community conversations. The last local deer survey was conducted in 2013 using traditional aircraft. This survey will use the latest drone technology to provide an updated, more comprehensive view.”
The nonprofit contracted White Buffalo, an independent conservation nonprofit from Connecticut that specializes in deer management, to conduct the survey and analyze the data. Drone flights are scheduled to take place between dusk and dawn, when there are cooler ground temperatures and the small aircraft, flying below 400 feet, can detect deer through infrared thermal cameras. The drones are operated by FAA-certified pilots and “follow a systematic grid pattern to ensure consistent, Island-wide coverage,” the press release said.
The public may notice nighttime drone activity over the next month, but the nonprofit said that the survey won’t capture identifiable images of people, faces, or homes. Launch and landing spots are only at preapproved locations where the nonprofit secured permission from public and private landholders.
The nonprofit also went to Island towns to discuss the survey and requested permission to launch and land drones on town properties.
Will the same company be hired to kill deer for money that is conducting the survey?
I wonder if the results will be used to tell hunters where the deer sleep or travel. Won’t this make it easier to kill them?
Is this still called hunting?
There are products that can be dropped into our wooded areas that the deer will eat and kills
their ticks. Why aren’t we using money for that prevention?
What about our rat and mice population and the fleas and ticks they spread?
Where is the alarm to round them up?
I don’t want drones flying over head or hunters creeping around at night and I have never heard of any announcement of this kind of activity approved over West Tisbury.
Well, it isnt legal in this state to hunt deer at night. So dont worry.