Montana, aptly named the land of the big skies, is a beautiful state with lots of wide open landscapes, mountains and wildlife. It’s a great place to visit or stay, but if you’re in the town of Butte, that amazing Montana landscape has been distorted by the remnants of a huge open pit mine. It’s not just in the blink of an eye, the water that fills the hole is deadly to any bird there. As a result, a group of people have come up with some innovative methods to prevent birds from landing on man-made poisonous lakes for long periods of time.
When they first started, the only tool they had was a rifle. Frightening birds in this way is not the most effective way for all species, though, so lately they are turning to other tools. One is a custom boat built on a foam bodyboard that uses a plethora of 3D printed parts and sensors to allow operators to navigate remotely on toxic lakes. The team has a drone to intimidate birds, as well as an array of other equipment such as high-powered lasers, propane cannons and various opportunities to combine the most effective response to help save wildlife.
While this technique runs the gamut of the most featured tools here, from 3D printers to drones to lasers, the only thing missing is some automation as we’ve seen with other featured drone boats in the past. It takes quite a while for the birds to show constant fear from this lake, even in winter, so every help the team can get can go further.
Thanks [floz] For the tip!