This simple software makes conservationists’ jobs easier
On most autumn days, David Sopjes can be found in the Eel River in Northwest California counting fish. As a retired high school science teacher and citizen scientist, Sopjes has spent the last 10 years monitoring the Chinook salmon population in the Eel River, which he says has the third-largest watershed in the state. Every fall, Sopjes counts the salmon as they wait for the winter rains to reproduce. … Before getting a drone three years ago, Sopjes and his colleagues counted the salmon by snorkeling in the river and standing on paddleboards, both of which greatly disturbed the fish and weren’t very accurate.