WA Fish and Wildlife to Use Drones to Monitor Fish Habitats

The WA State Department of Fish and Wildlife will begin using drones to monitor the habitat and other river areas affecting bull trout.

Drone flights will begin July 9

WDFW says the drones will be studying and monitoring the effects of low water flows in Kittitas and Yakima Counties.

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Bull trout are listed as threatened on the federal Endangered Species Act. According to WDFW:

"Drone flights will take place over the lower reaches of tributary streams and follow those streams to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) reservoirs within the Yakima and Naches River basins. The flights will originate from lands managed by either the USBR or the United States Forest Service and will take place two to three times per water body between July 9 and the end of November. If there is a need to take measures to restore fish passage, additional flights could occur. "

Specific flight patterns and times have not yet been finished, as weather patterns and other factors will affect the flights. WDFW says all flights will follow FAA requirements and procedures, and will be done during daylight hours.

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Gallery Credit: Dom DiFurio & Jacob Osborn