It's a Bird! It's a Plane! No, it's a Biologist!

Wildlife managers use many tools to help them perform their jobs. Among the more romantic, yet dangerous of these are helicopters and fixed-winged aircraft. Starting in mid-December, Fish and Game personnel will be conducting population survey flights for deer and elk across the Upper Snake Region. Helicopters are also used in capture operations so that radio collars can be placed on animals. Fish and Game doesn't own any aircraft, but instead leases both the craft and pilots. Costs to contract out the flights are built into Fish and Game's annual wildlife management budget. Using aircraft to manage wildlife might sound like fun, but it's a deadly serious business. "On the average there is one fatal crash per year in the western states of an airship involved in some aspect of wildlife management," regional conservation educator Gregg Losinski said. Three years ago a helicopter doing fisheries work crashed in the Clearwater Region killing two Fish and Game biologists, Larry Barrett and Danielle Schiff, and the pilot. For more information in the Upper Snake Region call 208-525-7290.