Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) says it is using drones to assess the effects of low water flows on bull trout movement and migration in drought-affected Kittitas and Yakima counties.
Kittitas and Yakima counties are currently in a drought emergency because of early snowmelt, a lack of spring rain, and low-flowing streams. On the other hand, bull trout are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
As the hot, dry summer progresses and water levels drop, conditions develop that create barriers to fish passage. The drone flights will help to alert biologists when they need to undertake fish rescue efforts due to these conditions.
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WDFW has been operating drones since August 1 over the lower reaches of tributary streams and following those streams to US Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs within the Yakima and Naches river basins. These flights, planned to continue till the end of November, originate from lands managed by either the Bureau of Reclamation or the United States Forest Service.
While two to three flights per water body have been planned initially, additional flights could occur if there is a need to take measures to restore fish passage. Specific flight dates have not been set as they will be conducted according to water level, weather, and site-specific conditions as the season progresses. Each flight mission will take approximately two to four hours to complete.
WDFW explains that images and video footage obtained by these flights will be used to create maps of each stream reach, documenting the progression of water loss through a series of images from an aerial perspective. This will help prioritize remediation efforts and be a visual tool for conveying the degree of water loss. The flights will be supplemented with ground surveys as well.
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