Bill Introduced In The State Senate To Allow Use By Two State Agencies

A bill filed in the Florida State Senate would allow two state agencies to use drones to combat the state's invasive Burmese python problem in the Everglades.

The PBS Newshour reports that the bill would create an exemption to current law that currently prohibits state agencies from collecting images using drones on private land. The bill would authorize the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Forest Service to use the aircraft to work towards eradicating the snakes.

Senator Bill Albritton said LiDAR-equipped drones might be able to help identify pythons, which are difficult to find in the Everglades. He said they could also be used to locate an invasive Asian fern that is destroying Florida's native vegetation.

According to the Florida State Wildlife Agency website, the lygodium fern is a "severe threat" to tree islands in the Everglades because it increases the risk of wildfires by allowing them to spread more quickly. In some areas, the climbing fern has completely blanketed the native vegetation, making it impossible to see anything beneath the fern canopy.

Finally, Albritton said the bill would allow the use of drones to assist in fighting wildfires by measuring tinder and identifying escape routes for personnel who may be trapped by fires. "There's a lot of different opportunities for that technology to yield a safer environment for those folks," he said.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report