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Aircraft and wildlife: BASH works to ensure the twain shall never meet

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Brandon Shapiro
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., --  How does one woman, her dog, and a few environmental tricks-of-the-trade save lives and millions of dollars, all while ensuring the safety of MacDill Air Force Base's missions of air refueling and distinguished visitor transportation?

...Strategically and uniquely through the Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard management program.

The objectives of the BASH program are straightforward and unpretentious: Keep the airfield free and clear of wildlife so that launching and landing aircraft avoid potential wildlife strikes, and establish flight safety levels for pilots by gathering environmental field information.

Entrusted with this vital mission are teammates Lindsey Garven, ecologist and 6th Air Mobility Wing BASH wildlife manager, and her furry assistant Tango, a red and white border collie.

Though the year-round wildlife maintenance program can become tedious at times, it remains a critical piece of base safety.

"Being that nearly one-third of MacDill's 5,700 acres are uninhabited and surrounded by water, it's prime habitat for dozens of Florida's native and migratory forms of wildlife," commented Garven.

This fact is easily understood when one takes a few moments to look around MacDill's runways, which are commonly frequented by coyotes, armadillos, raccoons, vultures, and gulls.

Finding ways to keep the wildlife "unhappy and uncomfortable" in flight areas is ever-changing, as are the resourceful methods used to accomplish this mission.

From pyrotechnics and bird chasing dogs to remote controlled air planes and high-speed pursuits, MacDill's BASH wildlife management program uses a set of well-versed tactics to actively harass nuisances away from the runways and active taxiways.

"Without continual, persistent wildlife management on and around the airfield, the safety of our aircraft and flight crews are at risk," noted Garven.

Although it may seem that a 1- to 2-pound bird could never hurt a bulky 250,000-plus-pound KC-135 Stratotanker, that's far from reality. Similarly, just two months ago during routine touch-n-goes, officials contributed the downing of an F-16 fighter jet at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., to a bird-strike.

Such incidences resonate in the minds of BASH personnel, especially as the seasons change and new weather patterns ensue. Garven understands these seasonal changes and readies herself for the influx of predetermined bird and wildlife movements.

"The two main periods of concern are May-July and November-December," noted Garven. "May-July brings the largest concentration of bird movement, while November-December brings the largest and most dangerous type of bird to the base - the vulture."

Fortunately, over the past four years and through the use of their compiled wildlife trends, the BASH program has been able to strategically reduce the number of bird condition threat levels.

"No matter what type of wildlife occurrence it is, the result can be tragic," commented Garven. "There is no way to completely eradicate the problem, but currently the threat conditions are down and that is exactly what we are looking for."

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