Fish and Wildlife to use drones to monitor pygmy rabbits

QUINCY — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will add drones to its list of tools to monitor pygmy rabbit populations in Central Washington.

Drone flights will start in December and continue through October 2026, according to a WDFW press release.

“Flights are expected to correspond with WDFW’s current field surveys for pygmy rabbits,” the press release said. “The purpose of the flights is to test drone and sensor capabilities and effectiveness for tracking pygmy rabbit distribution and numbers in snowy conditions. Researchers will also use the drones to help determine the survival rate of reintroduced animals.”

Flights will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will be part of the WDFW’s field surveys. Drones will fly over known pygmy rabbit colonies in state and federal lands, and private lands with permission, in Grant and Douglas counties

“Drone imagery has the potential to gather species distribution data in a safer and more efficient way than current methods,” the WDFW release said.

Pygmy rabbits are an endangered species in Washington and, according to earlier interviews, a critical indicator of the health of the sagebrush flats and the species that live there.

The WDFW started a reintroduction program of pygmy rabbits, the press release said, releasing them in selected areas.