[Esip-envirosensing] Bear deterrence methods for sensor stations

Tue Mar 29 16:10:42 EDT 2016

Brian,

I haven't dealt with this problem, but here are a couple low cost
thoughts. Increase installation height with a larger diameter mast to
move the enclosure and solar panel well above shoulder height of a bear.
Perhaps a mast height of 3-meters(?) with enclosure and solar panel not
far below the air temp sensor at the top, assuming you're comfortable
with potential wind load. Camouflage paint what you can, such as the
white enclosure, mast, and mounts (not the solar shield, of course) to
make it less obvious and less attractive to an investigative bear. If a
bear is likely to pull at parallel runs of cable on the mast, run the
cables through the main mast being sure to protect the entry and exit
ports to prevent abrasion, which will occur otherwise; e.g., rubber
grommet. Have the exit port belowground at the depth the cables will be
buried so none are visually exposed. Make the cables' entry point into
the mast slightly lower than the exit point from the enclosure bottom to
prevent water from running down the cable to the enclosure; or be sure
the cable run has a point lower than the enclosure bottom.

My thought is if the bear has only a smooth metal pole to interact
with, the roughness of a tree is going to be more attractive to mark or
rub on. I would expect objects that blend more into the environment to
attract and invite less destructive behavior. Even if a bear could reach
the enclosure when standing upright, it seems it would be less likely or
unlikely to occur, though my knowledge in this arena is pretty bare. 

It may be worthwhile to check with someone in your university's
wildlife department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department, or the
Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division for
guidance on a reasonable height for the enclosure as long as it isn't
used for an emergency food cache to hold a Snickers Bar.  ;-) 

Cheers,

John

John Anderson
Jornada LTER
Research Site Manager
P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3JER
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM 88003

voice: 575-646-5818
fax: 575-646-5889
e-mail: janderso at nmsu.edu 

>>> 
From: 	Mark Waldrop via Esip-envirosensing
<esip-envirosensing at lists.esipfed.org>
To:	<scotty at dayhike.net>
CC:	"esip-envirosensing at lists.esipfed.org"
<esip-envirosensing at lists.esipfed.org>
Date: 	3/28/2016 15:01
Subject: 	Re: [Esip-envirosensing] Bear deterrence methods for
sensor stations

Hi Brian,
My 2c are to go big or go small. We've had our PV arrays/towers/sensors
destroyed in AK (they were not surrounded by electric fence). The only
ones that survived were soil temperature sensors that had their own
battery and were buried. You could try to do the same with moisture
sensors too. You just need to make sure everything is water proof and
you need to visit it often and probably install several in case some are
dug up or batteries die/get wet.

The other option could be to go big. We also have large heavy
waterproof boxes that are bolted to 3" metal conduit structure,
constructed in the form of a balance beam with four legs.  (you can see
some photos of the 'brainbox' here:
http://carbon.wr.usgs.gov/autochamber.html).  We haven't had trouble
with bears here, but I imagine we could put long nails through the box
outward to inhibit bears from trying to grab it and rip it down. 
Additionally, we have had electric fence around this site too. 
Mark

On Mar 28, 2016, at 11:47 AM, Scotty Strachan via Esip-envirosensing
<esip-envirosensing at lists.esipfed.org> wrote:

> Brian, I'll chip in on the power side as well.
> 
> Like Renee says, sometimes you have to size the PV array and battery
bank for the marginal condition. I have a site in a forest that runs sap
flow sensors, a met station, radios, cameras, etc. The clearing is not
large, and my solar panels always have some shade on them somewhere,
especially in winter. The solution was to run nine 250w panels into two
separate charging/battery arrays w/~300Ah+ each and mount the panels at
60deg for snowshed. I only get a couple hours of charging time per day,
but it's enough to bring the batteries back up fast.
> 
> Here's the other thing - you don't want non-science systems (like
fences, etc) to run down the same batteries that you use for your
loggers and data collection. When I have dual-redundant PV/battery
systems, I then run a passive power combiner to a main 12v bus and then
use fused Low Voltage Disconnects for each subsystem, each set at
different cutoff voltages depending on priority. At no time do I allow a
system (even dataloggers) to pull down a battery bank lower than 25%,
otherwise you just kill your batteries during a long outage and still
have no data.
> 
> For instance, your could place your feed to your fence energizer (or
it's separate battery trickle charger) with a conservative LVD setting
(like 11.5v), and your data collection on 11v or lower. 
> 
> Make sure you have really good grounds on your fence circuit. 
> 
> Example of LVD product I use:
http://www.rogue-engr.com/12-Volt-30-Amp-Low-Voltage-Disconnect_p_15.html

> 
> Example of passive combiner I use when I go with parallel
PV-charger-battery arrays (this way I can lose a battery, charger, or
panel and still have a functioning system, well as run a non-critical
device separately from one of the battery banks and still not compromise
the science system):
http://www.newmarpower.com/Automatic_Power_Selectors/Automatic_Power_Selectors.html

> 
> If you are into electronics, you can get creative with this sort of
thing. The trick is to use devices which are not adding liability to the
hardware dependency list....
> 
> Cheers,
> Scotty
> 
> 
> Scotty Strachan 
> Coordinator, Environmental Research 
> Department of Geography 
> University of Nevada
> web: scottystrachan.com 
> email: scotty at dayhike.net 
> cell: 775-721-1308 
> 
> On 3/28/2016 10:39 AM, "Renée F. Brown" via Esip-envirosensing
wrote:
>> I agree- electric fences are the best way to keep wildlife out. Not
sure of your power design, but sounds like you do have some sort of
solar panel and battery system. You may need to consider beefing up both
your solar panel system as well as your battery bank such that the
batteries alone can get you through cloudy and/or snowy days, while the
panels are large enough to recharge the battery bank when enough sun is
available.
>> 
>> Renee
>> 
>> *
>> Renée F. Brown
>> Sevilleta LTER & Sevilleta Field Station
>> Department of Biology
>> University of New Mexico
>> 
>> 
>>> On Mar 28, 2016, at 11:11 AM, Wyngaard, Jane R (398M-Affiliate) via
Esip-envirosensing <esip-envirosensing at lists.esipfed.org> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I worked on some weather stations that had to be protected from
baboons - we also had to use electric fences in the end.
>>> 
>>> I wasn*t on the power supply design but is it literally a matter
of too little sunshine or would perhaps a more sophisticated recharge
system help?
>>> 
>>> Jane
>>> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>>> Jane Wyngaard, Ph.D
>>> Postdoctoral scholar
>>> Instrument software and science data systems Section (398)
>>> 
>>> University of Southern California
>>> NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory 
>>> 4800 Oak Grove Drive MS: 158-256D
>>> Pasadena, CA 91109
>>> 
>>> Phone:  818/354-6237
>>> Email: Jane.R.Wyngaard at jpl.nasa.gov 
>>> http://sunset.usc.edu/~jwyngaar/ 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> From: Esip-envirosensing
<esip-envirosensing-bounces at lists.esipfed.org> on behalf of Brian
Herndon via Esip-envirosensing <esip-envirosensing at lists.esipfed.org>
>>> Reply-To: Brian Herndon <bherndon at uga.edu>
>>> Date: Monday, 28 March 2016 07:50
>>> To: "esip-envirosensing at lists.esipfed.org"
<esip-envirosensing at lists.esipfed.org>
>>> Subject: [Esip-envirosensing] Bear deterrence methods for sensor
stations
>>> 
>>> Greetings all,
>>> The Coweeta LTER has environmental sensor stations located
throughout the southern Appalachians and as our sensor network has
expanded to 68 stations, the incidents of black bear damage have
increased.  These stations are located in fairly remote hardwood forests
requiring equipment to be hiked in. Many are setup like the image below
with soil moisture and temperature probes radiating from the base.  We
bury the sensor cables so most of the issues have been with the
enclosure and solar panel.  We have tried installing electric fences
around the enclosure, but maintaining battery power has been an issue. 
I would like to receive any suggestions, hear some war stories, etc. as
to how any of you have been able to prevent wildlife damage (especially
bears) to sensor stations.
>>>  
>>> Brian Herndon
>>> Information Manager
>>> Coweeta LTER
>>> 706.542.5691
>>> <image003.jpg>
>>> <image003.jpg>_______________________________________________
>>> Esip-envirosensing mailing list
>>> Esip-envirosensing at lists.esipfed.org 
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>> 
>> 
>> 
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<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>
Dr. Mark Waldrop PhD
Soil Microbiologist & Biogeochemist
U.S. Geological Survey
345 Middlefield Road, M.S. 962
Menlo Park, CA 94025

office: 650-329-5005
cell/txt: 650-714-9294
lab: 650-329-4503
fax: 650-329-4920
Email: mwaldrop at usgs.gov 

carbon.wr.usgs.gov
www.usgs.gov/climate_landuse/clu_rd/ 
<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>