steps along the rocky bank, Monica Blanchard waded into the Stillaguamish, a roiling river that snakes through the lush conifer forests of northern Washington. It was a rare cloudless October day, and golden maple leaves rained down, flapping in the breeze like butterflies before joining their withered brethren on the riverbank. Blanchard, a fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, held two long white sticks in her hands — electrofishing wands designed to stun fish. The wands were connected to a backpack outfitted with knobs and switches to control the small electric current that runs through them. “This is my Ghostbuster backpack,”
