BLM hosts first-ever uncrewed aircraft systems summit

During the last week of September, leadership from BLM Fire and Aviation, the program manager from the BLM Remote Pilot Remote Systems (RPRS) Program, division and branch chiefs from the BLM National Operations Center for Geospatial Enterprise and Remote Sensing, the Bureau Science Program, communication specialists, as well as subject matter experts from several state and national Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) programs met in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the first BLM UAS summit.

The Bureau’s UAS program was grounded on January 29, 2020, due to Secretary’s Order 3379 – Temporary Cessation of Non-Emergency Unmanned Aircraft Systems Fleet Operations. In October 2022, a Secretarial IM and DOI IB reinstated the use of drones within the Department of the Interior. Those documents were the catalyst that Matt Dutton, BLM National Aviation Office’s RPRS Program Manager, needed to start the formal process of re-establishing the UAS program.

Why was the summit established?

“The summit was a monumental opportunity to integrate and unite key Bureau stakeholders to influence and define the requirements for the program. So much has changed and will continue in UAS, aviation, and national airspace operations; taking the time to define requirements and vision will benefit this bureau beyond our tenure,” Dutton said.

The group members who attended the summit worked together, with a facilitator identifying UAS program requirements, organizational requirements, funding strategies, and near-term needs. As a body, they determined that identifying and aligning the mission, core values, and cooperation needs were necessary requirements to anchor into before engaging in the initial objectives.

Shannon Savage, Remote Sensing Section Chief from the BLM National Operations Center, says that the RPRS program is an amazing, powerful tool that can be utilized by anyone in the BLM to collect and analyze data. This data can help answer land management questions and allow land managers to make data-driven decisions.

The summit was a great first step in forwarding an agenda for the Bureau to utilize UAS across BLM’s multiple-use mission. Additionally, public affairs specialists from BLM Fire and BLM Headquarters will be working on ways to educate and inform both internal and external audiences about the policies, requirements, use, and benefits of UAS.

What is the future of UAS? The sky’s the limit! It’s a very exciting time to be a BLM employee as we imagine the workspace and workload of the next quarter century. UAS will no doubt be a leading part of the conversation. Spraying, seeding, animal counts, and detections are all possibilities on the immediate horizon.

As we look down the road, Dutton says, “The real exciting aspects of UAS are the cooperative efforts with data management and information technology in the Bureau to enhance access to information, shaping the way we make decisions as a land management agency.”

The group was represented by the following participants: Matt Dutton, BLM RPRS Program Manager; Shannon Savage, Remote Sensing Section Chief; Dario Lunardi, Geospatial Services Division Chief; Scott Fischer (OLES Assistant Special Agent in Charge); Bobby Flesch (Montana State Aviation Manager); Dustin Wessel, Alaska UAS Coordinator; Amanda Lucas-Rice, OR/WA UAS Coordinator; Karen Prentice, BLM Science Advisor; Bobby Eisele, BLM RPRS Fleet Manager; Jayson Murgoitio, BLM RPRS Standards and Performance; Christopher Holmes, Headquarters Public Affairs Specialist; and Jennifer Myslivy, BLM Fire Public Affairs Specialist. The summit was facilitated by Scott Moorcroft, Boise State University Director of Masters of Athletic Leadership.

For additional information, please read through the following informational links or contact Matt Dutton at: mdutton@blm.gov.

• Interagency UAS program 
• DOI Policy documents 
  • OPM 11 - DOI Use of UAS 
  • DOI IM 22-01 - Updated UAS operations and procurement policy 
  • FA-IB-2023-010 - BLM RPRS Strategic Update for Calendar Years 2023 and 2024 
  • FA-IM-2023-005 – BLM Standards for RPRS 
  • FA-IM-2023-016 – BLM Application of DOI UAS Policy and Resuming Mission Appropriate Activities  
• BLM RPRS SharePoint site. 

To utilize the RPRS program, please contact your State Aviation Manager or Matt Dutton and they will work with you to help plan out a proposed project.