2015 The State Of Sasquatch Science

[Lake County Bigfooot]

I think William Barnes has this thing worked out pretty well, the camera and optics are all custom made and allow him to cruise at altitudes of 4000 feet, which he is allowed

due to his falling under a university, Idaho State via Meldrum. He made the point that they are not going to be searching dense forest, but broken forest areas, as well as the

fact that a camera facing straight down will see the forest floor much better than one on a slight angle, like you observed from an airplane.  Listen to his interview last week

on Monster X radio where he addresses many of the obvious concerns and some not so obvious issues.

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mxr/2015/01/19/william-allen-barnes-the-falcon-project-prepares-to-take-flight

 

 

Just an update from my trip to Florida, I drove 3000 miles concentrating on the most squatchy routes possible, many hours driving

in the night around the Green Swamp area of Florida, saw a Fox, Deer, and some dogs and cats that seemed feral.  But as for 

the Big Guy, well he is pretty safe living in that swamp and coming out for nightly jaunts into the neighboring ranches and yards.

A trip into the orchard, and back by morning, the life of a happy Skunk Ape.  I did have one run in with a local on the roads who

thought it smart to tailgate me after making me pass him. I was just minding my own business staying back from him, but he thought

he could be clever and mess with me, found out quickly he was barking up the wrong tree...makes me think that you really need

to be careful late at night on deserted roads...I stopped my vehicle to express my distaste for his actions...that can get you killed

in those parts of the country, but I was lucky not to run into the wrong idiot and he moved on without further reprisals.

Edited January 25, 2015 by Lake County Bigfooot

[Guest DWA]

I was out for a walk on the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, in Greenbelt/Beltsville, MD, last night.  Not one of The Great Wild Enclaves of the Western World.  (Nor of MD while we're on that.) 

 

Other than the two bald eagles on a tree near their enormous nest, and dozens and dozens of mallards and Canada geese that started streaming in for the night around sunset, nothing much in the wildlife arena.  But it struck me how easy it would be for a transient male, or a family group, of these animals to make hay on this site for an extended period of time.  How many would even see them?  Of those, how many would rule it out as a really big guy in a hoody, had to be?  (Lots.  Although over time some would question that assessment.)   How many would report a sighting, or a print, or an unusually dealt-with deer carcass, if they happened on one?  The area is field, forest and freshwater marsh, and considerable of the latter two.

 

People who don't know much about animals really aren't qualified to make this assessment.  As for those who do know a lot about animals, they really might want to start getting better acquainted with this topic.

Edited January 25, 2015 by DWA

[JKH]

Sounds like fun, LCB. Maybe the local person was doing the same thing you were, you never know.

 

The falcon thing, well I'm not a fan of "projects" and "teams" consisting of males bent on "proof". The concept is controversial, for sure. I'll give it a listen later, though. I'm sure Randy is correct in the assessments given.

[SWWASAS]

All the Falcon project will could hope to achieve is low resolution FLIR images or higher resolution optical wavelength images taken from 4000 feet that have such lack of detail that they will be poorer resolution than the P/G film. The debate will commence, costume advocates will be well founded in their questioning, and nothing definitive will be determined by a very expensive project. From 500 feet I could not determine if a figure was a man in a costume or a BF and from 4000 feet it would be impossible. You sure cannot hear or look for footprint evidence associated with a sighting from an aerial platform no matter how good it is.

At 4000 you are getting into areas where prevailing winds can be very strong. Winds and mountains make a nasty mix for aircraft. I have encountered severe turbulence in such conditions out looking for BF. A dirigible or blimp is so much more effected by winds and turbulence than an airplane, it would likely be ripped apart, or blown down into the trees by down drafts and rotator currents associated with ridgelines. Some remote operator is just not going to be able to deal with that sort of conditions that are quite common in mountainous areas.

I had one possible sighting from an airplane and whatever it was, immediately went around behind a tree to hide. I was probably 500 feet above the ground and could not tell what it was. For all I know it was a poacher in camo, a pot grower tending his grow, a human in a costume, a BF, or a bear that decided to hide from the airplane noise. It could have been any of those things.

The money for that project would be better spend in an extensive field survey, lasting for weeks, with dozens of people, sweeping through an area, and forcing any BF into the open or move to avoid detection.

Edited January 25, 2015 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[Catmandoo]

LCB, it appears that you drive many miles and see a couple of animals. Is this route a routinetrip? Seems that one would have a difficult time building up a wildlife ( animals and birds ) inventory for a 4 season area over several years with a lot of running around. Do you stay in one area or float around?

[Guest DWA]

Well, one thing one has to do is have the time to hang around.  If one doesn't, in this field, lots of roadrunning is the alternative.

 

When I was in the Big Thicket of TX, I spent an all-nighter on the roads to see if I'd get lucky.  I simply didn't have the time on that trip to do anything else.  One or two days, or a week, of hanging in one place isn't likely to yield results.  In fact it is less likely than roadrunning:  animals' short-term response to a new human presence is to leave the area.  Deer hunters might not have that problem.  But for an elusive animal like this, you have to become a more or less long-term part of the landscape before they'll show themselves.

Edited January 26, 2015 by DWA

[Catmandoo]

The Falcon Project appears to be arranged for the Bigfoot Entertainment Genre, where failure marketing generates income.

There are many reasons why the Kickstarter effort failed. The main reason is that BS meters redlined. Presented is a weather sensitive airship that is worthless in forested areas with dense overstory structure. What about snow, rain and hail? The airship launchings/landings will be based in a clear, tennis court sized area. 5 mile service range from a motorhome. There will be a ground-based insertion team. I wonder if there are any openings on the insertion team that a good man could fill?

Add gizmo-tronic devices. The trendy term infrasonic appears. No infrasonic functioning at cruise speed. The professionals who work with infrasonic arrays have terms for our environment like " atmospheric sound zoo" and "atmospheric sound garden". So what is the magic ju-ju triggering frequency for their BS infrasonic system? The airship is very visible and noisey. Navigation lights; forward, left and right, rear and an anticollision strobe that flashes between 40 to 100 flashes a minute. There will be a lot of noise when the thrusters move from cruise to loitering. The airship is supposed to have a nearly silent, proprietary propulsion system. We have heard something like that before: ""very very quiet....sound like whales ******* or some kind of seismic anomaly"".

How will the crows and ravens react to a poofy bag invading their homes? Is the fabric bird-beak proof?

The motorhome base unit should be replaced with the "Eagle 5". It has a periscope and infrared scanner.

Helium, lots of helium will be needed.

Why isn't the project starting in northern California or Idaho? Proximity to rotary wing aircraft that can remove wreckage from forested areas?

The ground team is always a good show. There is a problem with the 'P' word. Yes, porcupine. Porcupine is the only animal in the forest that a human can catch up to on foot. True.

The Falcon Project is searching for money, has been for many years. They feel that 'we' turned our collective backs on them by not showering them with cash. They can use their own money.

Take away the names, take away the faces and what do you have? Guessing.

Still guessing at the start of 2015.

[bipedalist]

They are looking for several ground supply team members with a six month duty window.  

Edited January 26, 2015 by bipedalist

[Faenor]

Are there currently any ongoing DNA studies assuming Sykes has wrapped his up?

[Lake County Bigfooot]

Say what you will concerning the Falcon Project, but in my opinion it attempts to push forward the science of this creature.
The ground teams being in the field for six months in remotes areas, that alone is advancement towards gaining a better
understanding of the creatures. Whether or not the ship is worth it's weight in gold remains to be seen, but I do think that
it will provide us with a unique vantage point to possibly track an individual, if one is spotted.  The Apollo Missions had their share of failures, and the science to land on the moon developed because they dared to dream it, but I guess knowing the mentality of some in our community they will not see the good of this effort until it finds the real pay dirt, and I for dang sure would love to see a documentary of the field research if it is done well..

 

As far a driving around looking for Sasquatch, I just incorporate it into my travels.  This was a business trip to the PGA

merchandise show in Orlando, and I stayed adjacent to the Green Swamp area to make that a nightly venture.  The

fact that you can spend so many hours cruising roads and see so little wildlife is testament to how these creatures are

able to remain undetected, they simply do not risk exposure by crossing roads on any regular basis, or if they do they

wait till no headlights are seen or vehicles heard. My guess is that for every road crossing that is witnessed there are many thousands that are not, and the ones that happen are not mistakes, but rather intentional in some fashion, like I

dare you to try and catch me!! Or look at me and weep you miserable halfling!!

Edited January 26, 2015 by Lake County Bigfooot

[SWWASAS]

There are some aspects of the Falcon project that has merit. Just having an eye in the sky. A tethered balloon in an active BF area would be a much cheaper and lower tech approach and have a lot of advantages over a powered blimp. Duration days instead of hours. Run it up a 400 foot tether, which could double as power and coaxial cable for video feeds, and observe the area. The camera would have to be gyro stabilized as balloons tend to bounce around with wind. With nearly unlimited endurance, a tethered balloon, could just sit and survey an area for days and make absolutely no detectable noise. An blimp or dirigible would have a duration dependent on its source of power and propulsion and always make noise no matter what its power. Electric aircraft don't make much noise but they do make some. Their issue is duration. More that 12 hours duration would difficult for electric. As someone mentioned there is some merit in looking out at about a 45 degree angle. At least that allows you to look under a lot of forest canopy. Looking straight down all you see is forest canopy. If it is illuminated, which it would have to be for the FAA at night, it might even be of interest to BF at night. Certainly something in the sky would probably not be thought of as a threat. Have a quick reaction crew on site. If the balloon sees something, send out the crew to find the subject. Could move the rig every day or if in an active area stay put and see what you get.

I have thought about fielding such a thing myself. Anyone in Washington interested in such a project?

Edited January 26, 2015 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[1980squatch]

Wow, I'm really surprised they got enough funding to build one and get started, I never thought that would happen.  Seems they have been talking about this thing for at least a couple years...

[Catmandoo]

1980squatch

We have seen this before. Do they really have money? The wealthy benefactor card has been played before; 6 figures worth of thermal image gear, 60 trail cameras and supplies. And the results are...........? I believe the lighter than air vehicle has been drooled over for at least 4 years. I heard that spotted owls and marbled murrelets don't like helium.

LCB

I do not know what vehicle you use. Since you appear to be able to write off gas on your journeys, I have comments for you to take under advisory; mount a powerful light on your rear bumper/tailgate. Not an HID. They make some nice LED lights with good beam patterns. You can not see what crosses the road after you pass by. They hide at the side of the road to preserve night vision. When a vehicle goes by, they cross the road and tail lights are not powerful enough to illuminate them. On your travels down dark back roads, flip on the rear light when your gut feeling moves you. The high power 'back up light' is not for blasting tailgaters.

[Lake County Bigfooot]

I guess I could use it on tailgater's as well, sounds like a good suggestion.  I have thought about them sneaking behind me, and I do look out the mirror to see if
I can catch that behavior.  I was really thinking how cool it would be to have the Flir roof mounted panning thermal, that would be a serious game changer.  It still
might only let you know where some are.  I do not have an end game, only that I am trying to encounter them, and perhaps be able to solidify my belief in their specie,
as of now I have only heard them nearby.
 
I am certainly no expert on the optics being used for the Falcon Project, and whether they will prove useful in the field, but the boots on the ground coupled with
potential aerial surveillance is not a bad combination, couple that with all the ground hand held thermals with cameras, I think that in time we will be seeing some

form of evidence from this effort, and if nothing else is produced, a decent documentary.  I hope that latter is only a byproduct of the project, and does not become

the end all, otherwise we might have to count on some weak footage and hyped up evidence, no forgive me that is that other guy up in Canada.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Lake County Bigfooot

[Catmandoo]

At the end of post # 51, Crowlogic states 'the subject does not even get to the post office of real science........'. Does anyone have the zip code for the post office of real science? We will need that to send in cards, letters and boxes.