Wildlife Conservation
N754 was specifically redesigned for aerial waterfowl surveys. Results from these surveys are used to track population trends and to set harvest regulations annually. N754 surveys provided much of the basis for establishing national wildlife refuges in Alaska and for evaluating the wildlife value of federal lands designated for conservation under the Alaska National Interest Lands Act (ANILCA) in 1980.
For over three decades, N754 was recognized as the most significant aircraft in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s history – the safest, most reliable, and efficient waterfowl survey platform of all the aircraft in the Service’s fleet.
Major Bird Surveys using N754
New National Wildlife Refuge boundary surveys in 1972
Annual breeding waterfowl population surveys in Alaska from 1977-2011
Bald Eagle breeding population surveys from coastal British Columbia, Canada through the Alaska Peninsula (1977- 2010)
Trumpeter Swan censuses in Alaska from 1980-2010
Pioneering breeding waterfowl population surveys in eastern Siberia, Russia from 1992-1995
Winter waterfowl surveys, primarily for Black Brant geese, in Western Mexico and the Baja Peninsula from 1986-2010
Winter waterfowl surveys along coastal habitats in southeast Alaska from 1981-2002
Pioneering fixed-wing waterfowl surveys in Nunavut, Canada from 2005-2010
- Waterfowl Conservation and Management (Why waterfowl conservation is important and how it is accomplished)
- Counting Ducks: Aerial Surveys a Vital Tool in Waterfowl Conservation [PDF] (August 2006 article in Water Flying magazine about N754 and how it’s used in waterfowl surveys)
