Oblique Geotagged Photos From Aerial Beaver Surveys in the Central Brooks Range, Alaska, 01 July 2024

The Arctic Beaver Observation Network (A-BON): Tracking a new disturbance regime project observes beaver engineering across circumarctic treeline and tundra environments during the last half-century by mapping and tracking beaver ponds using remote sensing imagery. Oblique, geotagged aerial photos are being acquired to establish a baseline of the presence/absence of beavers in prominent river valleys of the Central Brooks Range in Alaska. On 01 July 2024, we contracted with Coyote Air out of Coldfoot on a ~4 hour flight through the North Fork of the Koyukuk, Alatna, and John Rivers. The Cessna 185 flew around 1500 to 2000 feet above ground level while a Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) Nikon camera connected to a Global Positioning System (GPS). We focused on capturing images of waterbodies that were later used to determine the apparent presence/absence of beavers along the flight route. A KMZ file was created with the geotagged photos and is included in this dataset here. We have also identified the apparent presence/absence of beaver activity (dam, lodge, etc.) in each frame and included this a geojson file and an interpreted map image.