Wildlife and Drones: How We Can Reduce Disturbance While Capturing Images, Alicia Amerson - American Cetacean Society - SF Bay Chapter

Our California coastline is home to a large biodiverse group of species from seabirds to whales, dolphins, porpoises, and more. Some species of marine wildlife are adapting to the ever-changing coastline and managing to survive alongside the increase of human activities in these wild spaces. Drones can be purchased easily and flown without a license. Currently, we don’t know the number of drones that are flown on the coast every day in California, but we do know it is increasing. Industry projections show that at least 7 Million drones will be in the sky by 2020. Human use of drones along the coastline can cause disturbance in sensitive areas for this wide range of species. Alicia Amerson approaches drone stewardship through best available science and outreach to protect marine wildlife. Wildlife can be easily disturbed by drones. In this presentation, Amerson will share how we can use six simple steps we ensure each flight is ethical, safe, and green for wildlife and humans. American Cetacean Society - SF Bay Chapter Donations are encouraged, $10 general, $5 students Alicia Amerson is a marine biologist, drone pilot, podcast host, and entrepreneur. She works to protect global biodiversity and empower communities through technology, science, and art. She is the founder of Alimosphere, a small woman-owned business working with conservation leaders to advance projects that benefit wildlife and humans. She earned a BS in biology from Eastern New Mexico University. After graduation she worked on environmental remediation projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory where she gained over 10,000 hours of project management experience and earned her PMP certificate. In 2015 she completed her Master’s degree in marine biodiversity and conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). At SIO she focused on whale-watching tourism and the use of guidelines or regulations in the industry along the entire Pacific coast in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. She was the first California Sea Grant fellow to work for Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom - now California Governor Newsom. Recently she launched the Projects for Wildlife podcast where she talks to conservation leaders from industry, policy, research, art, and advocacy to discuss how they launch big ideas, from struggle to triumph, in effort to protect wildlife and their habitat.