The data from these new onboard sensors, combined with time and location tags, can provide previously unattainable information relevant to natural resource impact assessment and management. The GPS receiver will provide more frequent and more accurate (to within 20 m) animal locations than currently feasible. GPS readings can be collected according to a pre-programmed schedule and saved to the onboard processor for later transmission to the satellite system. The acoustic sensor is designed to recognize animal vocalizations, thus remotely allowing ­ for the first time ­ thorough evaluation of animal behaviors and specific activities. By locating exact animal behaviors and linking them to specific habitats within the animal's natural range, valuable information can be collected on species interrelationships and the microhabitat components of their range. The data provided by the black and white camera can provide similarly ground breaking information, such as clutch or brood size, reproductive success, and preferred microhabitats and nesting locations. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can then relate animal movements and activities to jurisdictional boundaries, habitats, ecological community structures, and land-use activities with far greater accuracy than currently possible. Tagged animals may act as sentinels, or indicators, in their populations and in their ecosystems. These sentinels, moving in herds or flocks, can reflect the activities of many animals and can dramatically enhance sampling methods. Such information may lead to the development of a monitoring system to forecast bird flight vectors and help mitigate bird strikes by military and commercial aircraft. Meteorologists and climatologists can also benefit from this new technology. Time-coded location and sensor information received from the tagged animals can contribute significantly to meteorological and climatological studies. Relevant information can be obtained aloft from the backs of birds, including some avian species that migrate over currently unmonitored expanses on land and at sea.

Clearly, this capability will have applications outside the military, as well. The ability to characterize specific migration routes, breeding areas, and wintering locations for any species (avian, terrestrial, aquatic, or marine) large enough to carry a satellite transmitter offers tremendous potential toward defining and achieving sustainable development. This new capability, however, is only a tool. The transmitters and their utility for resource management continue to be defined and advanced, and the potential applications are practically limitless. If we hope to sustain expanding human populations and simultaneously conserve biodiversity, we must continue to pursue these types of advanced technologies and support their full application throughout the world. A newly formed non-profit organization called EARTHSPAN is dedicated to this mission.