South King News

The pilot focused on the ridgeline ahead, aiming for a break in the trees that dotted the jagged crest. Just beyond was the target—Domke Lake. As the small plane zipped past the tall evergreens, it made a steep dive and sped over the placid surface of the lake. Suddenly, a large cloud of mist erupted from the bottom of the aircraft. Hundreds of gallons of water poured from its belly as well as wriggling fingerlings—two-inch long trout. The tiny fish tumbled lazily through the mountain air into the lake while the pilot set course for the next lake a few miles away.

During the late Pleistocene epoch, glaciers moving across North America created high mountain lakes cut off from downstream invasion by physical barriers, leaving most of America's western mountain lakes barren of fish. In the second half of the 19th century, settlers began introducing trout to these lakes. Initial introductions were made by cattlemen, miners, and sportsmen, followed by governmental programs in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

As times changed, government agencies took a larger role in stocking lakes. At Mount Shasta Hatchery in northern California, initial attempts involved transporting fingerling rainbow trout via railroad cars. Sportsmen would meet these "fish cars" at stations to collect cans of fish to hike to their favorite lakes. Later operations became more organized with transportation shifting to horseback or truck. Post-World War II advancements led to airplanes and helicopters being used for stocking due to greater efficiency and reduced costs.

About 1,600 lakes in Western Washington are considered "high" lakes at elevations above 2,500 feet above sea level or higher. East of the Cascades, nearly 950 lakes lie above 3,500 feet. Only a small percentage have introduced fish populations; some sustain trout populations naturally while others are stocked periodically. Domke and Twin Lakes in Chelan County receive aerial stocking with up to 60,000 fingerling rainbow trout between them.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has turned to drones for wildlife management tasks that larger aircraft cannot accomplish. For instance, they used a quadcopter in late 2020 and early 2021 to gather information on Alder and Deer Creeks for a new fish release site preparation. Drones also help count elk populations, identify salmon spawning redds, and photograph migratory waterfowl for migration pattern analysis.

One ambitious project involves relocating renegade mountain goats on Olympic Peninsula not native to Olympic National Park but introduced by Alaskan hunters in the 1920s causing "ecological mayhem." In 2018, efforts began relocating goats to North Cascades sites using helicopters where crews tranquilize goats before transporting them.

Idaho's parachuting beavers initiative aimed at redistributing beaver populations started in the 1940s as an innovative solution using skilled pilots dropping beavers near streams for dam-building purposes—a cost-effective method compared to traditional trapping.

Although Idaho no longer uses "parabeavers," many states continue employing aerial assets for wildlife management with UAVs becoming increasingly common each year.