What do those three things have in common you ask? We had to ask that same questions until one of our customers explained another very intrigueing use of our half hardtops. Chuck at the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Bismark, ND contacted us a while back about getting a couple of half hardtops to outfit two of their YJs for a very special use. I'll let him explain it in his email and pictures that he sent to us after the install.
"I have attached a photo of one of the jeeps in the field. They are being used as part of a 2-year research project by a graduate student from the University of North Dakota. His project is to
determine if wind towers being installed to generate electricity in the Dakotas are a hazard to breeding ducks. The study area is located in prime breeding duck habitat that attracts greater than 100 breeding duck pairs per square mile in the southcentral portion of North Dakota and northcentral South Dakota. To determine if ducks are killed by flying into the towers, radio-telemetry transmitter packs are being fitted on the backs of 200 hens. Antennas were mounted into the backs of the jeeps, and the jeeps are used to drive around the study area to locate the hens multiple times each day to determine if the hen is still alive and where she is nesting. Each transmitter is equipped with a switch that informs us if the bird is still alive or not. If it is determine that the bird is dead, the bird is located on foot to inspect the carcass and determine the cause of death. The half-hard tops have allowed us to keep the bed of the jeep open for installing antennas and at the same time keep the computer and telemetry receiver equipment dry in the cab"
Chuck
Charles R. Loesch
Habitat and Population Evaluation Team
USFWS
