Drones change the way advocates protect the environment

By Whitney Pipkin
Bay Journal

Riverkeepers, researchers and volunteer monitors have long kept an eye on water quality from the ground and from the river. But, with the help of technology that’s suddenly far more accessible, they’re taking to the skies, too.

Unmanned aerial vehicles, also called UAVs or drones, have recently become so affordable and easy to fly that they are winding up in the hands of more environmentalists.

Pipeline opponents and watchdog groups are a perfect example.

“The technology has come along to the point where everyday people can put a camera up in the air and see beyond the tree line or their property line,” said Ben Cunningham, Virginia field coordinator for the Pipeline Compliance Surveillance Initiative, a program that is training volunteers to use drones to keep tabs on controversial natural gas pipeline construction projects.

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