Drone Patrol over the East Bay — September 2020

Sep 10, 2020

Drone patrol over the East Bay

Baykeeper field investigator, Cole Burchiel, recently patrolled the Richmond harbor using our new drone, Osprey (pictured, above).

As the newest addition to the Baykeeper investigation team, Osprey surveyed this heavily industrialized area that includes the Levin coal terminal, Sims metal recycling, and an area contaminated by companies like Bayer, Stauffer Chemicals, and Zeneca (now AstraZeneca). Over a period of nearly 100 years, these corporations contaminated shoreline areas and groundwater with arsenic, mercury, and volatile organic compounds, all of which still exists in the area to this day. This toxic site lies north of a stretch of beautiful tidal wetlands, which Osprey captured in the image below. 

The high-quality imagery captured by Osprey has already been used to support our advocacy to defend this region, and will continue to produce invaluable evidence to help us fight for the Bay. A big thanks to our partners at Autonomous Imagery for the drone donation and for the help to expand our investigative capacity in such a significant way!

 

Wetlands in Richmond

 

 

Related Content

Hiding in Plain Sight
A few years ago, Baykeeper skipper Jeff Wasserman and his wife Julie were kayaking along the Alameda shoreline on a lazy Saturday afternoon when they noticed something glittering in the embankment....
No Place for a Home
During the Bay’s recent King Tides (the highest tides of the year), our field team used Osprey the drone to monitor the shoreline. We were surprised to find the site of a proposed new housing...
thumb
The Secret Ingredient
The traditional holiday season of thanks is taking on new flavor as I reflect on what Baykeeper has accomplished over this past year. There’s so much to be grateful for. We made it through the worst...
Join us to hold polluters accountable and defend the Bay DONATE NOW >