Later in 2017, the FAA selected LCMCD to participate in its UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP). “By 2018, original proposals to deploy a 1,500-pound, fixed-wing Teros UAS were deemed unfeasible for one of the smallest agencies in the IPP,” the district related. “Alternatives were investigated, and the decision was made to step away from the IPP in pursuit of a more modest pace into unmanned aviation.”


By 2018, LCMCD trained remote pilots to conduct aerial larvicide applications. By 2021, it created an unmanned aerial systems operations team by hiring a UAS pilot and a GIS imagery analyst. The team’s focus was on larvicide applications, simultaneously supplementing the range of a field inspector’s hand treatment and the precision of aerial helicopter applications. “Our second objective was in-house LiDAR acquisition and analytics from both manned and unmanned aircraft,” Lefkow said.


60 Jan/Feb 2025


From a practical perspective, field validation biologists contact the UAS pilots to observe and report on meteorological conditions during their field trials. These metrics bring new levels of awareness and control into their scientific method, refining the approach to mosquito control.


LCMCD drone fleet, equipment, functions, and benefits include:


• Aerial larvicide applications (unmanned aerial spray system): one PrecisionVision 40X UAS


• Unmanned LiDAR acquisition: one Freefly Alta X UAS •


• Inspections: one Skydio X10 sUAS


Aerial and geometric mapping (orthomosaic): one Freefly Astro sUAS


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