BLANCHARD, OKLA. –
Drones could become a more prominent tool in the fight against Oklahoma’s Cedar population, as the state continues to get more aggressive in its conversations about wildfire prevention.
On Tuesday, lawmakers, conservationists, and other officials attended a demonstration in Blanchard hosted by Grass Ag— a newly formed company based in Oklahoma City, which develops its own drone technology for agricultural use.
The company showed how its latest generation of drone can autonomously fly mapped routes and drop herbicidal pellets within a certain radius of Cedars to eventually kill the tree; a process that can take up to a year before the tree becomes a “skeleton.”
Reach from the drones can travel farther and pinpoint more variety in size within a tree canopy, than can be accomplished by foot or truck.
“As we go through that flight path, when one tree is treated, it changes colors and goes to the next,” said Levi Wilson, president of Grass Ag, while pointing to a screen with the company’s own proprietary software for controlling its self-engineered drones.
For its part, the state is motivated by cost to explore better options than using an axe, bulldozer, grinder — or prescribed burn — to rid itself of cedars.
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission estimates that manual labor removal methods cost $700 to $1,000 per acre.
But, it estimates the drones could cost $100 to $150 per acre.
“There are a lot of advantages,” said OCC executive director Trey Lam. “It’s more environmentally friendly, it’s less expensive.”
The pellets, Lam explained, reduce the risk of “drift.”
The company doesn’t map flight paths that are less than 100 feet to the nearest body of water.
“For sensitive watersheds, it’s really even better because we’re not putting more chemicals out that could wash off the soil, or wash off the vegetation, and perhaps get into the streams,” Lam added.
State lawmakers will be tested on their grit to actually mobilize with any new technology. Debates have raged for years on feeding more money into Cedar eradication programs.
“I have personally had conversations in the last week with the governor, emphasizing that he can champion this for us,” said State Rep. Mike Dobrinski, R-Okeene. “He can add that to his legacy before he leaves; to make us step up and address it statewide. And he can be the governor that can finally help us turn the tide on invasive Red Cedar.”
Grass Ag estimates that commercially capable drones will be ready for use before the end of this year.
