Alicia Amerson “My Address Like My Wings Travel With Me” - CANCELED

ACS presents Founder of Alimosphere, Alicia Amerson’s “My Address Like My Wings Travel With Me,” a discussion on drone stewardship to reduce wildlife disturbance. Drones are known to cause disturbance to wildlife. Our California coastline is home to a large biodiverse group of species from sea birds to pinnipeds. Some species of marine wildlife are adapting to the ever changing coastline and managing to survive alongside the increase of human activities in these wildspaces. Drones can be purchased easily and flown without a license. Currently, we don’t know the number of drones that are flown on the coast every day in California, but we do know it is increasing. Industry projections show that at least 7 Million drones will be in the sky by 2020. Human impacts (hiking, biking, kayaking, photography, and drones) are known to cause disturbance in sensitive areas for this wide range of species. In this talk, Amerson approaches drone stewardship through best available science and outreach to protect marine wildlife.Alicia Amerson is a marine biologist, science communicator, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She works to protect global biodiversity and empower communities through technology, science, and art. She is the founder of Alimosphere, a small woman-owned business focused on reducing disturbance to wildlife caused by drones while promoting the use of drones for conservation research. Growing up in New Mexico, Amerson was fascinated with the ocean and through her current efforts she is establishing a culture for flying drones responsibly around wildlife. Growing up she rode horses everyday and found as many books as possible to read about marine wildlife, their habitats, migration patterns, foraging preferences, and any other scientific fact that was known at the time.

Editor's Note: This talk has been canceled and replaced with a talk by Ted Cheesman.  See our listing.