Helicopter to conduct geophysical surveys in Grant County
By Logan Bagett on Friday, June 14th, 2024 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News Featured Stories More Top Stories
JOHN DAY – Folks may begin to see increased helicopter activity over Grant County in the near future. Grant Soil and Water Conservation District Manager Kyle Sullivan was in EMG Studios recently, and said in addition to the continued helicopter spraying for invasive grasses, there will be even more flying machines in the sky next month to do geomagnetic surveys.
Sullivan explained that thanks to funding from the Oregon Water Resources Department and FEMA, they’re able to conduct the surveys in an area that hasn’t been studied since the 1960’s:
“We’re in the process right now of contracting with a helicopter company to do a geophysical survey of the upper John Day. So, basically, that’s mostly private ground between the headwaters down to Dayville. The helicopter will have a big net beneath it. It’s kind of like radar, where it sends a signal…basically, it’ll develop a 3-dimensional model of the lithology below our feet—all the way to 800 feet.”
Listen to the full podcast with Sullivan, along with Malheur National Forest Silviculturist Zane Murray, below:
