Natural Resources department of Maryland has been flying high after regaining the use of a helicopter for aerial surveillance.

The agency said in a statement on Wednesday that it has been using the chopper this fall to help enforce the deer hunting and oyster-harvesting regulations.

The aviation unit had been eliminated in 2009 in a cost-cutting move by the administration of former governor Martin O’Malley. The agency said that  the helicopter had been transferred to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

Department Secretary Mark Belton told that when the same chopper became available last year, he was almost determined to acquire it, and Gov. Larry Hogan also agreed with that.

Belton said that the 44 years old aircraft had been refurbished before it was returned last week to service . He said that the chopper had since been used for oyster enforcement, and in a search for two missing people.

By Prakriti Neogi