On April 26th, 2018, NOAA's Fisheries, The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, National Park Service, Ryka UAS and the NOAA UAS Program Office conducted a post mission for Dr. Curtis Roegner’s Hyperspectral Salmon Habitat Study conducted 2016-17.  The following was discussed and had multi-user interest:

Project Scope

1. Wetlands directly benefit endangered juvenile salmon by supporting diverse vegetation communities.
2. Restoration of degraded wetlands leads to vegetation and topographic changes that require comprehensive monitoring – difficult to accomplish w/traditional means.
3. Develop remote sensing techniques employing hyperspectral imagery on a uav to monitor wetland restoration trajectories.

Project Goals

1.  Equip a UAV system with a hyperspectral imager - completed
2.  Conduct field measurements, and build Spectral Library - completed
3.  Develop data analysis routines and analytics for critical metrics -completed
4.  Test flight optimization and evaluation missions at additional tidal wetland systems - completed
5.  Codify protocols for remote sensing to aid evaluation of wetland restoration trajectories and management decision making - completed