UTV and Conservation Project

UTV Training 

This week I was able to get my certification to use an ATV/UTV within the park service. With this certification, I can use these vehicles to maneuver through the park grounds and trails easier and quicker than on foot. I was trained by Ranger Alan McLoughlin in First State National Historical Park. 

 (July 27th - July 31st)

Here I am during my physical portion of the certification after passing the online course. I am driving and weaving through the sticks to get familiarized with driving the UTV. After the rigorous training, I was sent to patrol the trails in First State. 

Here I am again driving on one of the trails and ready to patrol the current hotspots of First State. 

Conservation Project

For my project in First State National Historical Park, I was tasked with putting up surveillance cameras in three known hotspots for which the general public destroy and disrupt the natural and cultural resources here. The three hotspots where the cameras are located are each capturing a different type of criminal activity. Through the photos, I will elaborate on the activity the camera was supposed to focus on. Each camera was strategically put in spots where the general public would not be able to see them. Ergo, they were hidden well enough to get the job done.  

First things first, I never put up cameras before. I focused my time on Monday, July 27th, and Tuesday, July 28th getting familiar with the settings of the types of cameras I was going to be working with. I had two different types of cameras. One was specific for capturing the license plates of vehicles and the other one was meant to capture general surveillance. The license plate camera was called the HyperFire 2 License Plate Capture Camera (HL2X). The general surveillance camera was called the HyperFire 2 Security Covert Camera (HS2X). 

Vandalism 

Unfortunately, this sign had been vandalized with a bag of flour. An individual through a bag of flour through this sign and left that huge hole. A new sign has been ordered to replace this one. However, to prevent this I put up the license plate camera in a tree.

This camera is focused on capturing the license plates of vehicles. If the new sign gets vandalized again, we would have photos of the license plate of the car. This camera on a huge tree and used an extension ladder to position it correctly. I used a 5-inch piece of bark behind the camera to get it on an angle and positioned to capture license plates. Ironically this was the only tree in the area that was on National Park Service property and it was positioned perfect for what I needed to capture license plates.

Unauthorized Vehicles, Alcohol, and Drugs 

This camera was used to capture unauthorized vehicles and people bringing alcohol on this trail. This trail is considered a hotspot because people would drive their cars down this trail when no cars are allowed back here. However, this camera is not another license plate camera but the general surveillance one. This camera is pointed in the direction cars would need to pass by it. Therefore, it is would be looking at license plates. I also used another piece of bark to position the camera at an angle to capture the photos it would need to get the job done. 

Here is how the camera looks up close and in its final position where I was able to get it right. For this camera, I used a 12-foot ladder to get up on that tree. However, it took a few minutes to actually find the right tree to put the camera on. Ranger Justin and I climbed a couple of trees prior to finding the perfect one. It was trial and error until we got it right. 

Here Ranger Justin and I took a photo of where the camera is from a distance to give the perspective of where the camera actually was and how it would look. 

Here is a picture from a greater distance and including the UTV. In this photo, the camera is a little bit above the UTV roof lights. The point of view of this photo to see how the camera is well enough that the general public won't see the camera unless you are really looking for it. However, this camera is well enough to capture cars and people walking by. Therefore if a car drives by, we have the license plate. Or if people go down this trail with drug paraphilia or other criminal activities we have them on camera too. 

Littering 

The final camera was used to capture the huge amounts of litter within Smith Bridge Parking Lot. Every morning I would take two hours in the parking lot picking up litter left by the general public while three dumpsters are in the lot. 

However, the position of this camera is too open and anyone can see it. I placed the camera opposite from the entrance of the parking lot where it can capture people that litter and as well as the cars that are in the lot. This is also a general surveillance camera, not a license plate camera. 

I ended up changing the location of this camera since the last location was too visible and anyone can see it. The new location of the camera was positioned at an angle facing the entrance of the parking lot and the two dumpsters across the street. This camera was hidden better than the last location. The pale looking tree was able to hide the camera a bit better and it never blocked the camera lens.  

 

This is a photo of me one-morning doing litter control. I have my mask, gloves, trash picker, and a trash bag (with two trash bags more in my back pockets). This is how I spent the majority of my morning working here at First State and I personally like doing this. I like knowing that I'm making a difference and cleaning up this parking lot from litter.