February 15, 2021
A Sentinel-2 image of an area in Whitman County, showing green vegetation (white) with streamside areas outlined yellow. Source: Google Earth Engine.
By Scott Weybright
College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences
PULLMAN, Wash.— Washington State University researchers are using satellites and drones to help local conservation districts monitor areas near rivers and streams to help improve agricultural sustainability.
The BIOAg project, part of WSU’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, is aimed at helping counties included in Washington’s Voluntary Stewardship Program monitor and report compliance and participation in helping riparian, or streamside, ecosystems.
“The state’s program is really a bottom-up approach, where the state encourages local stewardship to improve riparian areas and monitor them,” said Alexander Fremier, an associate professor in WSU’s School of the Environment (SOE). “Stakeholders, including counties, districts, or landowners, propose areas that they can help improve, then monitor the results of their actions.”