Folks around Trabuco Canyon insist they're not
rebellious by nature. It's just that the stakes are
high
in their fight against a neighbor who bulldozed four
acres of oaks and coastal sage scrub without state
and federal permits.
To assess the extent of the grading, they hired a
biologist to videotape the work. After all, the
residents said, the area was possible habitat for
endangered or threatened species. But the biologist
was shooed off the property.
Undaunted, the residents borrowed an idea from
the war in Afghanistan and hired Larry Fleming,
who strapped a 35-millimeter camera to a
remote-controlled model airplane and flew it over
what residents consider a battle zone. The images
were not CIA quality, but residents were happy
with their "reconnaissance drone." And they
succeeded in getting the grading stopped.
http://latimes.com/editions/orange/la-000033909may13.story?coll=la%2Deditions%2Dorange
