AUVSI Member Spotlight: Lee County Mosquito Control District

Lee County Mosquito Control District logo 

The Lee County Mosquito Control District is committed to improving the quality of life, facilitating outdoor activities, and protecting the public health in their community by implementing environmentally sound practices that control mosquitoes throughout Lee County, Florida.

Value of Lee County Mosquito Control District’s AUVSI Membership

As autonomous technology emerges in Lee County and beyond, Lead GIS Imagery Analyst and UAS Pilot Nicholas Lefkow noted how AUVSI supports the education of Lee County’s team in this arena.

“Our team has found many learning opportunities, from AUVSI’s webinars and daily digital content to XPONENTIAL, helping to keep our remote pilots sharp,” he elaborated. “Finding opportunities for continued education is a key resource in our ability to keep up with an ever-growing industry, especially when UAS integration is still so new to Mosquito Control.”

Exciting Industry Developments

Lee County Mosquito Control District continually integrates new technologies and systems, all with the goal of serving their local community.

Lefkow continued, “New heavy lift application vehicles for dispensing granular payloads into water bodies harboring mosquito larvae is one facet of UAS development which we are watching closely. We have also begun to utilize Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology equipped to both crewed and uncrewed aircraft to map out inaccessible habitats to more completely understand our ecosystem so we can better serve our community.”

Lee County Mosquito Control District’s Role in the Industry’s Future

Given their progressive approach to new technology in Mosquito Control, Lee County Mosquito Control District has become a proving ground for many use cases that later gained wider acceptance.

“Lee County Mosquito Control is one of the most robust districts in the United States,” Lefkow stated. “Many innovations have been tested here in Southwest Florida over the years before being established as ‘Best Practices’ for the industry at large. UAS integration has proven to be another opportunity for Lee County to live up to its leadership role in the Mosquito Control industry.”

Support for High Safety Standards

Innovation comes without sacrificing safety for the Lee County Mosquito Control District.

“Although we operate under a Certificate of Authorization from the FAA which allows for our own uniquely trained pilots, all Remote Pilots and Visual Observers are required by LCMCD to be licensed by 14 CFR Part 107 Certificates. Our Pilots participate in many webinars presented by AUVSI and others throughout the year,” Lefkow added.

Building Public Trust

Finally, Lefkow and his team find great value in putting this technology front and center for the public to demonstrate and explain its safe, necessary uses.

“LCMCD’s UAS Ops Team attends many public events throughout the year to share the use of this new technology with our community. News spots exploring the new vehicles being put into action have far reaching access allowing citizens of Lee County to know who we are when we arrive in their neighborhoods,” he said.

For more information visit: https://lcmcd.com/