Florida could use drones to fight pythons and invasive species

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Florida could turn to the sky to fight Burmese pythons on the ground under a bill a Senate committee unanimously approved Monday to allow two state agencies to use drones in the effort to eradicate invasive plants and animals. The bill would create an exception to a current law that prohibits law enforcement from using drones to gather information and bans state agencies from using drones to gather images on private land. It would allow the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Forest Service to fly drones to manage and eradicate invasion species on public lands. Sen. Ben Albritton said he has been told that drones equipped with lidar, which stands for "light detection and ranging," might be able to identify pythons. "As you know, chasing those nasty critters down there in the Everglades is a difficult task," Albritton said.