Erickson has been selected to transport a research crew tasked to analyze forest areas in Alaska under a five-year contract with the Agriculture Department and U.S. Forest Service.
Erickson said Wednesday the company will provide helicopter transport to interagency research crew led by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ division of forestry, USDA and USFS in support of the Forest Inventory Analysis project.
The team will create forestry field plots intended for a multi-year analysis work and the crew will also operate in unimproved landing areas during inclement weather, gusty winds and smoky conditions.
Researchers will examine permanent sample measurement plots fin order to evaluate forest functions such as species distribution, growth rates, carbon flux, wildfire frequency and permafrost depth within the Boreal forest of Alaska.
Erickson will operate in Fairbanks and work out of Nenana and Manley.