HELENA - Some of the most unique jobs in the state of Montana belong to Joe Rahn and Lindsey Parsons of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, taking an Airbus AS350 B3 Helicopter to log and survey wild animals like sandhill cranes, mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and Pronghorn.
Watch: Fish, Wildlife & Parks high-flying animal surveys
Joe Rahn graduated from the University of Montana, obtaining bachelor's degrees in both Business Administration, Management and Operations and Avionics Maintenance Technology, as well as a Bachelor of Applied Science in Aviation Maintenance. In addition to piloting helicopters in the Army and National Guard, Rahn was also an airline and EMS helicopter pilot in Alaska before landing his position as Chief Pilot for FWP in 2009.
Lindsey Parsons is the Helena Area Wildlife Biologist for FWP. She possesses a Bachelor's Degree in Ecology with a concentration in Fish and Wildlife Management from Montana State University, a Master's Degree in Secondary Education from Black Hills State University, and a PhD from South Dakota State University, where she researched Greater Sage-Grouse Breeding Ecology. Parsons has been working for FWP since 2019.
MTN joined them on one of their flights to observe their Sandhill Cranes survey, witnessing the important work they do firsthand.
Sandhill cranes are a vital species to study and track for conservation and hunting.
The research is led by Pacific Flyway biologists from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Intermountain Joint Ventures, which focuses on sandhill crane movement, seasonal habitat use, overwinter survival, and migration paths in the Intermountain West.
State biologists in Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and Idaho have all participated in surveying.
Using a chopper provides some of the best opportunities to get wide, panoramic views of the surrounding landscape to spot as many animals as possible, especially around urban areas.
"You know, a lot of the valleys in Montana, they're getting built up like the Bridger Valley, the Bozeman area, the Missoula area, and the Helena Valley behind me," says Rahn. "There are houses popping up everywhere. So, in order to get these surveys done without violating the FAA rules, we have to do it with a helicopter."
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires airplanes to maintain a safe altitude of 500 feet in non-populous areas and 1000 feet in populous areas, over people and structures. Helicopters do not share those restrictions. They are only required to stay at an altitude at which they can safely land, which, for skilled pilots, can only be a few feet.
Wildlife Biologists like Parsons utilize these helicopters to count the number of animals in a habitat area and log them into a database, along with other information like latitude and longitude, and weather conditions. All of this will be written into an official report.
The results of the survey determine how much harvest Montana receives, depending on the population number, which directly impacts hunters.
"And so, if we're above or below, particularly more than one year in a row, we could recommend changing the season type so that we're harvesting more or less depending on where we want that trajectory to go," Parsons said.
All of the information gathered is sent to the Fish and Wildlife Commission, where an ultimate decision on hunting regulations is made.
You may have seen these flights around your area, since each pilot can log between 500 and 1,000 hours of flight time per year.
Harassing wildlife with a helicopter is illegal. FWP stated there are very minimal disruptions to the animals with these surveys, and all their choppers and planes are properly marked for easy identification.
As for the final count of sandhill cranes we witnessed on my flight, we counted 386 individual birds, the second-highest count on record in the Helena Valley.
FWP has access to harvest reports, hunting regulations, and season lengths on its website.
