Autonomous Aerial Survey of Wildfire Burn Areas to Aid Post-Fire Damage Assessments of Soil Resources and Mitigation Efforts for Watershed Recovery

for clearing out accumulations of small timber and ground vegetation. However, generations of controversial forest land management practices coupled with global warming trends have yielded wildfires that burn hotter and longer. This beyond ordinary level of devastation can have long lasting effects on the health of soil and watershed resources. The ability to ameliorate these impacts has direct ecological and economic benefits to not only to the nation's forests but to the ecosystems, communities, and agricultural operations that border and live downstream of the burned areas.The technical problem we aim to address in this proposal is: How to provide accurate, useful, and actionable data, at a low-cost, to decision makers and experts involved in post-fire remediation, particularly in areas that may be difficult to access?Aerial surveys may be the most practical and cost effective means to provide data for remote areas with challenging access. Satellite imagery is useful, however its resolution and timeliness are often limited. Manned aircraft can carry a variety of sensor payloads to provide imagery (visible light, infrared, hyperspectral, and LIDAR), but flying these payloads can be costly both in terms of hardware and labor. There are many mature surveillance technologies developed for unmanned aerial system (UAS) in the defense world that hold promise, yet the operational costs of the UAS often exceed that of manned aircraft and the obstacles to permit Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operation in the National Air Space (NAS) are cumbersome and costly as well. Latitude Engineering has identified a market need for aerial surveillance technologies that can provide high resolution data at a low-cost--but the real key is to design these systems so that they have a clear path forward for FAA approval and easily integrate into the NAS for commercial operation.This proposed effort will use a small, low-cost, and scalable UAS from Latitude Engineering called, VIA Emergent Intel, to provide aerial survey of forested lands affected by wildfires. VIA Emergent Intel, uses state of the art technology to truly achieve an unprecedented level of autonomy. This enables end users to focus on research, data gathering, and analysis rather than learning how to fly and operate UAS. The small size of the VIA Emergent Intel vehicles (~250 grams each) and their low flight altitude (<400 ft AGL) make them ideal for commercial aerial survey applications. In the Fall of 2015, Latitude submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requests for Section 333 Exemption and permission to fly commercially.The goals of this effort are to partner with the Arizona Geological Survey to monitor post wildfire soil conditions at a burn site within the state of Arizona. We will use the VIA Emergent Intel UAS to investigate hillslope channel erosion, changes in watershed hydrology, and identify debris flow hazards at the local burn area (to be determined based upon the outcome of the 2016 summer fire season). This technology addresses priorities both within the USDA SBIR Program and the NIFA National Challenge Areas. The technology, work, and research proposed herein will contribute to maintaining "healthy and sustainable forest ecosystems that are more resilient to wildfires"--significant parts of this resiliency are directly affected by post wildfire remediation efforts to ensure conservation of soil resources and mitigation efforts for watershed recovery.