​Session Coordinator: Eric Ettlinger, Marin Water

 

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (AUVs) have great potential to collect high-quality, quantitative salmonid habitat data but most fisheries managers and restorationists are unfamiliar with recent advances in the technology, data collection protocols, and emerging applications. Areas where this technology could be applied include:

 

- Salmonid habitat typing surveys

- Streambed facies mapping

- Wood loading estimates

- Vegetation mapping

- Pre- and post-enhancement photo monitoring

- Elevation surveys, including water-penetrating LiDAR

- Redd surveys

 

Practitioners will discuss their experiences using UAVs and the pros and cons of this technology compared with traditional survey methods.

 

Using Drones to Monitor the Dry Creek Habitat Enhancement Project (and Beyond): Uses, Benefits, and Challenges, Eric McDermott, Sonoma Water

 

A View From Above: Using Drone Imagery to Establish Fish Passage Thresholds, Dana Lee, FISHBIO

 

Building Capacity for First Nations to Map Thermal Refuge Areas for Salmon Using Drones, Eric Saczuk, PhD, British Columbia Institute of Technology Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Hub

 

The Bigger Picture: Utilizing Drones to Assist with Fish Monitoring, Fish Passage and Quantifying Vegetation Impacts on Fish Communities, JT Casby, California Department of Water Resources

 

Utilizing Drones for Redd Counts and Escapement Estimates in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, Daniel Auerbach, PhD, Washington State University

Independent Testing of PIT Tags for Fisheries Research: A Framework for Standardization and Performance Evaluation, Brian Beckley, Founder, Voda IQ