Are props & gear only way to remove airport wildlife?

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
21,874
Location
west Texas
Display Name
Dave Taylor
Home Airfield
KMRF
We have a Pronghorn on our airport; probably for a month now.
Yesterday I had a near-collision with him in the flare.
I asked the airport director to do something, anything about it but nothing happens.
Can’t get pushed through a gate.
Lead injection not legal
Offered the services of local pilots to move it
Can’t get a notam.
Refuses to put an addendum to the awos like I hear other airports have.
Have a feeling that calling the state (TxDOT) or feds will fall on deaf ears.


Should I save my correspondence, for when there is an accident, to show the negligence??
 
Ask the director to mount this on his fender and clear the runway for inbound airplanes?
 
If you wanna catch a male you bait the trap with a doe ... ;)

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Send a certified, return receipt letter to the airport manager explaining the risk of injury and financial loss in the event of a collision.

Request a copy of the airport liability coverage for collision with wildlife on the airport, including personal injury to occupants of aircraft.

Explain that this is now a known hazard, and completely unpredictable for pilots, and controllable for the airport. Special permits from the fish and game department are available for harvesting game are available, and if that is not acceptable to the community, tranquilizer darts and relocate is an alternative.

As a documented hazard, controllable only by the airport, it is their liability.

edited to add
CC the airport commissioners, individually.

If that has no effect, always do a full throttle pass at 10 feet to clear the runway, with advance notice on the radio of reason for pass, but do not say full throttle.
 
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455 Bravo Uniform said:
Night vision scope, a 22 subsonic, and extra room in the freezer.
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Covered in OP.
But it is the most sensible idea.
Protected/managed species in Texas.
Not likely to get regular permits with drought/pop decline right now
Special permit a total hassle.
 
Speed goats are some of THE BEST table fare.

Your problem isnt the pronghorn. The problem is the airport director. I'd call up the DNR and say you're concerned the pronghorn can't find out how to get out and might not have sufficient access to water or die from a runway incident. Let that heart bleed for the the little speed goat and maybe they'll relocate.
 
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Pal saw another on takeoff tonight.
Apparently there are three now.
I like @geezer ‘s idea best….. but I can’t burn my bridges by going all steamroller just yet.
Think I’ll talk to the commissioner.
 
Racerx said:
Speedbucks are some of THE BEST table fare.

Your problem isnt the pronghorn. The problem is the airport director. I'd call up the DNR and say you're concerned the pronghorn can't find out how to get out and might not have sufficient access to water or die from a runway incident. Let that heart bleed for the the little speedbuck and maybe they'll relocate.
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That’s probably partly true, although the neighboring ground may not have water either since all the cattle were moved off in the drought. And they can go weeks w/o a drink.
Wouldn’t it make a great newspaper article though! It would be immediately scheduled for the very next commish meeting lol.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
That’s probably partly true, although the neighboring ground may not have water either since all the cattle were moved off in the drought. And they can go weeks w/o a drink.
Wouldn’t it make a great newspaper article though! It would be immediately scheduled for the very next commish meeting lol.
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DNR wouldn't just toss it over the fence. They'd release them to a safe suitable habitat miles away from the airport.

Ran into some ranchers in New Mexico. The nmdgf was dumping bears that were getting complaints from urban areas (ABQ and Santa Fe) near his ranch. The bears that had collars were the once giving him problems. Probably because they were getting fed by people.

I'd call a warden or a biologist and see if they do anything. Certainly can't hurt.
 
GaryM said:
Bravo to everyone on the thread for not calling them pronghorn antelope Because they aren’t antelope. Even though people seem to insist on calling them that.
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More a goat no?
 
I hear 12 gauge flash bang rounds work pretty well...
 
Racerx said:
Your problem isnt the pronghorn. The problem is the airport director.
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This is probably true. Unfortunately, applying the recommended solution to the problem, that is...

455 Bravo Uniform said:
Night vision scope, a 22 subsonic,
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...would likely result in lots of paperwork, lawyers, courts, and all sorts of hassle.

Besides which, airport directors aren't known to be especially tasty.
 
I operated for a few years out of the Philips Army Air Field which is inside the restricted area at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Deer are always a problem as unless they get clobbered by some wayward ordinance, they don't have any natural enemies in there (except when they do allow hunters to come in and cull). Especially during rutting season, the standard procedure is to make low passes over the runway (sorry, Trevor) to scare them off.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Protected/managed species in Texas.
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3393RP said:
Call TP&W. They'll tell you what the options are for removal. That'll give you a firm basis for taking on the airport management.

My experiences with them indicate the agency has a good common sense component, unlike some states with a different, uh, political philosophy.
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And as a protected/managed species, I’d approach it as not wanting to accidentally kill the animal rather than protecting my airplane.
 
MauleSkinner said:
And as a protected/managed species, I’d approach it as not wanting to accidentally kill the animal rather than protecting my airplane.
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My comment was intended to express TP&W would take a balanced approach, taking into consideration the danger to aircraft and pilots, as well as the animal's well being. Relocation is an obvious possibility.

They won't react the same as, say, California and the delta smelt, whose program requires the release of billions of gallons of fresh water into the ocean to the detriment of human needs.

There are, of course, obvious philosophical differences between the states.
 
flyingron said:
I operated for a few years out of the Philips Army Air Field which is inside the restricted area at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Deer are always a problem as unless they get clobbered by some wayward ordinance, they don't have any natural enemies in there (except when they do allow hunters to come in and cull). Especially during rutting season, the standard procedure is to make low passes over the runway (sorry, Trevor) to scare them off.
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Heh, that's where I work when I'm stateside.
 
MauleSkinner said:
And as a protected/managed species, I’d approach it as not wanting to accidentally kill the animal rather than protecting my airplane.
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See my post above. Express concerns for the animals well being and inability to get out and find better habitat and the possibility of getting hit by a plane. More about the pronghorn and not the danger it imposes to the pilot.

I've called the DNR a few times over the years and by far the most common sense branch of government I've dealt with. " A deer with a badly broken leg from a car hit, well...let's just make sure we've got a good backstop."
 
3393RP said:
My comment was intended to express TP&W would take a balanced approach, taking into consideration the danger to aircraft and pilots, as well as the animal's well being. Relocation is an obvious possibility.

They won't react the same as, say, California and the delta smelt, whose program requires the release of billions of gallons of fresh water into the ocean to the detriment of human needs.

There are, of course, obvious philosophical differences between the states.
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Racerx said:
See my post above. Express concerns for the animals well being and inability to get out and find better habitat and the possibility of getting hit by a plane. More about the pronghorn and not the danger it imposes to the pilot.

I've called the DNR a few times over the years and by far the most common sense branch of government I've dealt with. " A deer with a badly broken leg from a car hit, well...let's just make sure we've got a good backstop."
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Note that I am not arguing with either of you. I am simply combining the two statements for clarification. I wasn’t anticipating that either of you would think that I would expect you to otherwise call them up and say, “Get this ****ing animal off my airport before it does damage to my airplane!” or some such.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Note that I am not arguing with either of you. I am simply combining the two statements for clarification. I wasn’t anticipating that either of you would think that I would expect you to otherwise call them up and say, “Get this ****ing animal off my airport before it does damage to my airplane!” or some such.
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Oh, I'm not arguing either. Just commenting on how it might be handled. It's unusual for an airport animal conflict to involve a protected species.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Note that I am not arguing with either of you. I am simply combining the two statements for clarification. I wasn’t anticipating that either of you would think that I would expect you to otherwise call them up and say, “Get this ****ing animal off my airport before it does damage to my airplane!” or some such.
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No arguments here! Just reinforcing that the wildlife people are the ones I'd go to for wildlife issues. Theyre pretty reasonable and don't sit on their hands in my experience. It's their job and a pretty fun one if they decide removal is necessary.

I mean, driving around an airport with a tranq gun... seriously, where do I sign up?
 
Racerx said:
No arguments here! Just reinforcing that the wildlife people are the ones I'd go to for wildlife issues. Theyre pretty reasonable and don't sit on their hands in my experience. It's their job and a pretty fun one if they decide removal is necessary.

I mean, driving around an airport with a tranq gun... seriously, where do I sign up?
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Good luck getting close to tranq most pronghorn. They are open plains animals with great eyesight and want nothing to do with being close to what they perceive as threats. Distance and speed are their defenses.
 
I can't believe it didn't drop dead after the first pass from extreme lead poisoning ;)


And speaking of lead poisoning, I'd say the 800 million mosquito's at Oshkosh, the most traffic in one area ever, is proof enough that we ain't killin nuthin.


And speaking of proof, no I didn't actually count the mosquito's.. that's a statistical calculation based on the number of bites on one leg in the time it took to have a glass of Woodford.
 
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Skyrys62 said:
And speaking of proof, no I didn't actually count the mosquito's.. that's a statistical calculation based on the number of bites on one leg in the time it took to have a glass of Woodford.
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Sounds legit
 
Maybe harass them by chasing with a 4WD vehicle until they decide the grass is tastier elsewhere?
 
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