From air to algorithm: How drones are training AI models for forest recovery
A Forest Service unmanned aircraft system flies above the Cameron Peak Fire burn area in the Roosevelt National Forest. The Cameron Peak Fire burned over 200,000 acres in northern Colorado beginning in mid-August 2020, the Forest Service is using drones to train artificial intelligence models…
#Drones, #UAS, #AI, #Recovery, #PostFireRecovery, #Fire, #Technology
Igniting the future: Technology on prescribed fire
Fire managers filling the plastic sphere dispenser in the Alta X on Blackberry Prescribed fire on the Helena Ranger District, Montana. (Forest Service photo by Mariah Leuschen-Lonergan)
Along the foothills of the Big Belt Mountains near York, Montana, it’s unusual to see bare ground above 5,…
#Fire, #PrescribedFire, #ControlledBurn, #UAS, #UnmannedAircraftSystems, #WildfireAwarenessMonth, #HelenaLewisAndClarkNationalForest, #Technology, #Drones
Busy airspace
Note: While unauthorized drones in restricted airspace can halt firefighting air operations, the Forest Service is increasingly incorporating uncrewed aerial systems in wildfire operations. From 2019 to 2025 the Forest Service has increased drone flights by 2,483% on active incidents (…
#Drones, #UAS, #UnmannedAircraftSystems, #Safety, #Fire, #Firesafety, #Flying, #Recreation, #Aviation
Filming and Photography
Cameraman McCarthy and Director Chas. MacDonald on location during the filming of the “Blessing” on Hot springs, Montana, Beaverhead National Forest. (USDA Forest Service photo).
How the Forest Service manages filming and photography authorizations changed with the passage of the Expanding…