FWP AT WORK Joe Rahn, Chief Pilot

Aerial surveys

JOE RAHN

FWP HAS TWO FULL-TIME PILOTS, Neil Cadwell in Billings and me in Helena, and three part-timers. Mainly we fly wildlife population surveys. Most of the survey work is in January through late April, starting with moose and then mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats. This time of year, in midsummer, we’re taking biologists out to look for radio-collared grizzlies and wolves and conduct antelope surveys. Summer is also when we use a helicopter to stock westslope cutthroat and other trout species in mountain lakes. In fall we take game wardens up for aerial surveys of suspected poaching activity. Most people don’t know the department has this aviation unit, but Montana is a big state, and the only way to effectively monitor its fish and wildlife resources is from the air.