The following article was in the Skywriter, a newspaper that serves 
Wright Patterson AFB.  I found it upsetting as the area around the 
runway is where I go to look for Eastern Meadowlarks and Bobolinks where 
they seem to nest in the grass.  The airport isn't very busy and the 
small amount of routine traffic is all large (mostly huge) multi engine 
aircraft.  Geese on the ground are not a problem in the surrounding 
area.  There may have been birdstrikes but even the article says the 
impact has been negligible.    Seeing this article followed an 
interesting report on NPR yesterday about how military installations are 
becoming the last refuges for many species and there is "war" (my term 
because I couldn't think of one better this early) going on between 
military needs and wildlife management needs.  (And make no mistake, the 
military don't like the snowy plover out at Vandenberg.  Nor do the 
pilots in Arizona like the antelope that close the range).
I guess at the end of the article they mean birds lives will be saved 
from possible birdstrikes by not being attracted to the base? I really 
don't see the base selling a small amount of switchgrass to farmers.

  http://www.npr.org/2015/10/02/445216691/endangered-wildlife-find-a-safe-home-on-the-range-the-bombing-range



*Switch grass use has many benefits Jeff Pelc, a wildlife biologist and 
district supervisor with U.S. Department of Agriculture wildlife program,*

*records bird data while conducting a Flush Transact Survey. The survey 
involves walking a zigzag pattern to flush any hiding birds out so they 
can be recorded. *(U.S. Air Force photo/Wesley Farnsworth)

*By Wesley Farnsworth*

88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

The primary mission of the Air Force is to fly, fight and win, and this 
mission depends on the use of many different aircraft. One program used 
to support this mission is

the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) program. BASH is a comprehensive 
Air Force program that helps prevent bird and wildlife strikes with 
aircraft, which also

enhances the safety of aircrews. Included in this program are daily 
patrols of airfields to ensure that no wildlife are present, and 
modifying the habitat around the airfield

in order to lessen the attraction for birds and wildlife. One of the 
ways Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is working to lessen the attraction 
of wildlife is by participating in a new demonstration conducted by the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Mississippi State University 
involving the use of switch grass. “The USDA’s primary role

is to collect the field data for our wildlife research center and then 
share that information with Mississippi State University,” said Jeff 
Pelc, a wildlife biologist and district supervisor with the USDA 
wildlife program. “We do that by visiting each of the four areas 
designated for this project (at Wright-Patt) and collect bird and large 
mammal observations.” Funded by government agencies outside of the Air 
Force, this demonstration began in May and is scheduled to last for 
three years. The primary goal is to determine if the use of switch grass 
on airfields and around military airports will make the habitat less 
attractive to birds and wildlife, therefore reducing aircraft strike 
hazard risks near these facilities. Some of the information gathered by 
the USDA includes the number and species of birds as well as their dire 
ction of travel. The USDA also has several wildlife cameras in place 
that record for 24 hours over four days to show any large wildlife that 
may be using these fields. “During our routine site visits, we conduct 
modern surveying techniques to observe wildlife operations in these 
areas,” said Pelc. “One of these techniques is called the Flush Transact 
Survey, which involves walking a zig-zag pattern through the field to 
flush the birds out so we can record them.” Preliminary research has 
shown that switch grass doesn’t appeal to birds and wildlife because it 
doesn’t provide resources for them, Pelc said.  “Here at Wright-Patt we  
have deer, coyote and ground hogs that cause damage to aircraft

if an aircraft happens to  strike them while landing or  taking off,” 
said Mark Hohn, 88th Air Base Wing flight safety  manager.  “These 
animals may cause  more damage than bird strikes so we are hoping this 
demonstration proves to be successful,” Hohn said.  Wright-Patterson AFB 
is located only 50 miles east of one of the main flyways from Canada 
down to the south, according to Hohn. As the temperatures begin to fall, 
the migratory season of water fowl, Canadian Geese and Mallards begins. 
This migratory season brings a lot of water fowl through the area 
looking for a place to land and stay for the night to rest, Hohn 
explained. Hohn said that last year, Wright-Patterson AFB had 43 
wildlife strikes, which is a typical year for this base. He said that 
about 98 percent of those strikes were non-damaging and the other 2 
percent consisted of minor damage to aircraft that was able to be fixed 
quickly and returned to service.  This grass brings other benefits,  
such as a reduction in  maintenance costs because it  only needs to be 
cut twice per  year. Also, there is the opportunity to sell it as bio 
fuel and to farmers to use as livestock bedding.  One other benefit ... 
it will also save the lives of wildlife  and birds who seek to make 
Wright-Patterson AFB a home or stopping grounds in their flights to 
warmer weather. Wildlife habitat  change can help to limit aircraft damage.


Marie Schatz, Fairborn OH



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