BLM Unmanned Program

Fiscal Year 2021 Operational Review


Background

Policy. Priorities. Personnel. Each of these factored into the BLM UAS Program in Fiscal Year 2021.

The year brought several changes to the BLM UAS Program, including the retirement of long-time Program Manager Gil Dustin, along with departures of influential individuals to UAS positions with other agencies.

At the same time, however, vision and mission has been reset and revitalized with the hiring of Matt Dutton as the Program Manager in August. The bureau is forging ahead, with new avenues in UAS training, standardization, collaboration, and program leadership, with an eye on long-term strategy while maintaining current capacity.

Training

After a pause in 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic, UAS training was back with in-person classes during 2021. Proficiency flights for emergency preparedness and on-the-job training for aspects such as aerial ignition were also conducted by BLM operators.

BLM Training and Proficiency in Alaska - 2021

BLM personnel provided support in several facets, including flight instruction and inspection, data management, and technical expertise for 3 sessions of Interagency courses for A-450: Basic Remote Pilot and S-373: Incident UAS Operations.

Morning briefing before a flight exercise at the Grass Valley S-373 course - April, 2021. Photo: J. Murgoitio, BLM

Course Deliveries

  • Grass Valley, CA - 32 Interagency Students. USFS led
  • Redding, CA - 12 Interagency Students, NPS led
  • Fairbanks, AK - 11 Interagency Students, BLM led

Andy Culbertson of the Midnight Sun IHC practices a precision landing with the M-600 as part of S-373 training near Fairbanks, AK - May, 2021. Photo: J. Murgoitio, BLM.

BLM Operators conducted approximately 189 training and proficiency flights in FY2021, totaling just shy of 40 hours of flight time.

Flight training in California at the Redding S-373 Class, April 2021. Photo: J Murgoitio, BLM

AK Smokejumpers Scott Beninati and Robert Ordonez use all available resources for shade at S-373 training near Fairbanks, AK - May, 2021. Photo: M. Dutton, BLM

Investigating UAS training opportunities and touring new construction in The Dalles, OR - March, 2021. Photo: M Dutton, BLM

Fire Operations

BLM pilots safely conducted 1491 UAS flights for fires in FY2021, accumulating over 342 hours of flight time across 20 states.

BLM UAS Fire Flights in Alaska, 2021

A total of 31 BLM remote pilots logged flight time in FY2021. Personnel changes, such as retirements and UAS job opportunities with other agencies have continued to impact remote pilot numbers in the bureau.

Lakeview IHC members Milton Truong (with aircraft) and Tim Gibilisco (with controller) supporting the Winema IHC with aerial ignition around structures on the Jack Fire, Umpqua National Forest, OR on July 10th, 2021. Photo: M. Truong, BLM.

Night on the Dixie Fire in California, August 2021. Photo: D. Kavitz, BLM.

Lakeview IHC aerial ignition module standing by to support ground firing on the Green Ridge Fire, WA on July 30th, 2021. Photo: M Truong, BLM

Interagency UAS: Wildland Fire Operations Integration, produced by the BLM UAS Program, May 2021. Video length: 13:36.

Prescribed Fire and Aerial Ignition

BLM pilots supported prescribed fire operations with aerial ignition capabilities across the United States in 2021. Often times, UAS provide an inexpensive, low risk, and more precise capability for prescribed burning.

Dustin Kavitz assisting the USFS with a prescribed fire in Wyoming. Photo: D Kavitz, BLM

Winter and spring prescribed fire activities in the southeastern United States are an ideal training opportunity for UAS aerial ignition pilots. BLM continues to support interagency efforts advancing fire practitioner skills, accomplishing fuels targets, enhancing pilot knowledge and skills, and improving operational capability.

BLM and OAS UAS operators prepare for aerial ignition missions in South Carolina - March 2021. Photo: D. Kavitz, BLM

BLM Wyoming UAS Operators assist the USFS on the Cottonwood RX Fire. Photo: D Kavitz, BLM

Call When Needed UAS Operations

Type 1 and 2 Call When Needed UAS were mobilized for 4 fires during the 2021 season, totaling 20 flights and approximately 80 hours of flight time. CWN UAS statistics for 2021 are the lowest in the 4 years of the program. Fiscal Year 2022 is the last year of the BLM CWN contract.

Preparing a Type 1 UAS for night operations on the Schneider Springs Fire, Washington - August, 2021. Photo: S Levitt, BLM

Call When Needed UAS flight counts and supported fires, 2018 - 2021.

The Bridger Aerospace LVR-90 UAS launching for a reconnaissance mission. Photo: S Levitt, BLM

The Evolution of the BLM UAS Program: 2017 to 2021

Time Enabled Mapping

The map at the right shows BLM UAS flights for training, fire, and natural resources. The slider along the bottom allows for customizing the timeframe to display. Symbols are graduated; larger symbols equate to more flights at that location.

Fiscal Year 2017 was the onset of a substantial growth period within the BLM UAS program. A-450 and Advanced Mapping Workshops held in Idaho, Arizona, Alaska, Utah, Oregon, and New Mexico brought dozens of new remote pilots into the fold, both within the BLM and other DOI partners.

Class photo of UAS training in Anchorage, AK - March 2017. Photo: BLM UAS Program

Bobby Eisele, BLM-NAO, explaining how a 3DR Solo UAS works to A-450 students in Ruidoso, NM - November 2017. Photo: BLM UAS Program

Additional classes continued into 2018 and 2019. By the end of FY2019, over 130 BLM remote pilots were conducting UAS missions. Flights for Natural Resource Management were widespread throughout FY2019, with BLM pilots logging approximately 3,500 flights and 670 hours of flying time.

Sam Cox, BLM-Wyoming, lands a 3DR Solo UAS after a vegetation monitoring project. Photo: BLM UAS Program

In mid-October 2019, just as FY2020 had begun, all DOI remote pilots were ordered to cease UAS operations. All flights immediately halted. Secretarial Order 3379, issued in January 2020, outlined use cases for the DOI UAS program, allowing for flights to support Emergency Operations and Emergency Preparedness. All other UAS operations were prohibited pending investigation into potential security issues from foreign made unmanned systems and payloads.

Matt Dutton, BLM UAS Program Manager, watches a landing at the St. George A-450 training, April 2018. Photo: BLM UAS Program

SO3379, coupled with mitigation measures for the COVID-19 pandemic, curtailed UAS operations and training for much of FY2020 and FY2021. In Fiscal Year 2021, a total of 31 BLM remote pilots logged flight time, completing roughly 1700 flights and 386 hours of flying for emergency operations and preparedness.

BLM Remote Pilots on the Red Salmon Complex, California - August 2020. Photo: BLM UAS Program

Visualizing the Data

Flight numbers graphed by months reveal several aspects about the evolution of the BLM UAS program from 2017 to 2021.

Flight training in early 2017 led to exponential growth and use of unmanned aircraft. The seasonality of use is evident, as flight numbers rise and fall with warmer weather in the spring summer and fall. A steady increase in the number and diversity of flights is apparent from 2017 through September 2019.

Spikes in training flights can be attributed to UAS classes. Examples include Basic Remote Pilot and the Advanced UAS Courses held in Oregon in May 2017, New Mexico in November 2017, Alaska in May 2018, and Colorado in April 2019 are pointed out in the graph.

A marked decline in flight count begins in October 2019, largely due to the UAS cessation order and eventually Secretarial Order 3379. This policy has had lasting affects to the number and type of UAS flights in 2020 and 2021. As shown, no UAS flights for resources have been conducted in over 2 years.

SO3379 affected more than just flight numbers. BLM remote pilot involvement has plummeted over 2020 and 2021. In 2018, a high of 133 remote pilots logged flight time; by FY2021, that number had dropped to 31 pilots.

BLM Remote Pilots with logged flight time and average number of flights per pilot, FY2017 to FY2021.

Although the number of active pilots dropped, demand for UAS did not. BLM pilots completed nearly 1700 flights in FY2021 alone, an average of 55 flights per individual operator, double the average of FY2020. Additionally, while the total number of pilots has dropped, capability in the form of Aerial Ignition has increased; 19 of 31 BLM remote pilots were Aerial Ignition qualified or in trainee status by the end of FY2021.

The Data at the right is interactive. Expand the menu with the blue arrow at the left of the graph to turn use categories on and off. Hover over the graph for more information.

A line graph of flight counts show the seasonal spikes in usage during warmer months, especially for fire operations. Of these graphs, perhaps the most apparent element is the consistent need for the services, benefits, and advantages that unmanned systems provide.

Balancing personnel and resources during peaks and valleys of demand is a challenge across the interagency UAS program, especially with continuous changes and updates to technology, policy, and use cases. Stabilizing and standardizing aspects of the program, such as when, where, and how formal training is delivered, will allow better customer service for the BLM and partner agencies.

The BLM UAS Program continues to prepare, train, and posture for exponential growth of remotely piloted aircraft across the bureau as policy and fleet solutions are revealed.

Thank you for viewing our FY2021 summary. If you have any comments, questions, or technical problems with this presentation, please contact Jayson Murgoitio at jmurgoitio@blm.gov

Morning briefing before a flight exercise at the Grass Valley S-373 course - April, 2021. Photo: J. Murgoitio, BLM

Andy Culbertson of the Midnight Sun IHC practices a precision landing with the M-600 as part of S-373 training near Fairbanks, AK - May, 2021. Photo: J. Murgoitio, BLM.

Flight training in California at the Redding S-373 Class, April 2021. Photo: J Murgoitio, BLM

AK Smokejumpers Scott Beninati and Robert Ordonez use all available resources for shade at S-373 training near Fairbanks, AK - May, 2021. Photo: M. Dutton, BLM

Investigating UAS training opportunities and touring new construction in The Dalles, OR - March, 2021. Photo: M Dutton, BLM

Lakeview IHC members Milton Truong (with aircraft) and Tim Gibilisco (with controller) supporting the Winema IHC with aerial ignition around structures on the Jack Fire, Umpqua National Forest, OR on July 10th, 2021. Photo: M. Truong, BLM.

Night on the Dixie Fire in California, August 2021. Photo: D. Kavitz, BLM.

Lakeview IHC aerial ignition module standing by to support ground firing on the Green Ridge Fire, WA on July 30th, 2021. Photo: M Truong, BLM

Dustin Kavitz assisting the USFS with a prescribed fire in Wyoming. Photo: D Kavitz, BLM

BLM and OAS UAS operators prepare for aerial ignition missions in South Carolina - March 2021. Photo: D. Kavitz, BLM

BLM Wyoming UAS Operators assist the USFS on the Cottonwood RX Fire. Photo: D Kavitz, BLM

Preparing a Type 1 UAS for night operations on the Schneider Springs Fire, Washington - August, 2021. Photo: S Levitt, BLM

Call When Needed UAS flight counts and supported fires, 2018 - 2021.

The Bridger Aerospace LVR-90 UAS launching for a reconnaissance mission. Photo: S Levitt, BLM

Class photo of UAS training in Anchorage, AK - March 2017. Photo: BLM UAS Program

Bobby Eisele, BLM-NAO, explaining how a 3DR Solo UAS works to A-450 students in Ruidoso, NM - November 2017. Photo: BLM UAS Program

Sam Cox, BLM-Wyoming, lands a 3DR Solo UAS after a vegetation monitoring project. Photo: BLM UAS Program

Matt Dutton, BLM UAS Program Manager, watches a landing at the St. George A-450 training, April 2018. Photo: BLM UAS Program

BLM Remote Pilots on the Red Salmon Complex, California - August 2020. Photo: BLM UAS Program

BLM Remote Pilots with logged flight time and average number of flights per pilot, FY2017 to FY2021.