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Biologists get some guidance from above
King George businessman helps biologist keep up with wildlife through satellite tracking devices
Date published: 7/11/2009
BY FRANK DELANO Wild goose chases will never be the same, thanks partly to M. Blake Henke. Henke, 41, is the managing partner of North Star Science and Technology LLC. Based at Henke's home in King George County, the company makes and markets satellite trackers of wild animals and birds. The devices "have totally revolutionized wildlife biology," said Henke. "You can learn a lot about an animal when you know where it goes, where it spends its time and how much territory it needs." North Star trackers have been used to study dozens of species, including cranes and flamingos in Africa, buzzards and snow leopards in Asia, mountain lions in South Dakota and black bears in New Jersey. HawkWatch International of Salt Lake City is one of Henke's oldest customers. HawkWatch has bought more than 100 trackers since North Star first started selling them in 1999, said science director Jeff Smith. Smith said the units have provided "amazing information" about the wanderings of northern goshawks, red-tailed hawks and golden eagles in the Rockies, Cascades and other Western mountains. Some young birds were found to summer in far northern Canada and to winter in Mexico. Smith said HawkWatch recently loaned four of its North Star trackers to wildlife biologists studying short-toed eagles in Israel. "The birds migrated to Chad and Sudan in Africa, including the troubled Darfur region, but they all survived and did well," Smith said. The trackers are called Platform Transmitter Terminals, or PTTs. North Star's PTTs range from small to extra small. Its biggest transmitter is attached to a collar that will fit a buffalo's neck. It weighs about 2 pounds, depending on the length of the collar. Small units for birds are often attached to them like miniature backpacks. The smallest North Star PTT weighs just 9.5 grams, less than two nickels.
Date published: 7/11/2009
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