history

Throughout the 1990s, working in the private sector as a geologist who used remote sensing as an exploration tool, John Amos became increasingly concerned by the mounting evidence of human-caused changes to landscapes and ecosystems around the world. He began to think that images of habitat loss and the spread of human influence could be important not only as a source of scientific data on environmental change, but also as a powerful tool for communicating these changes to the public.

In 2001 John left the for-profit world to lay the groundwork for SkyTruth: meeting with environmental groups to learn more about the state of environmental remote sensing; talking to advocates about their communications needs and resource limitations; and presenting the capabilities of satellite and aerial images to environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), grassroots activists and government resource managers. A Board of Directors was assembled from friends having hands-on experience with environmental policymaking, communications and nonprofit administration, and SkyTruth was incorporated.

In 2002, SkyTruth was granted non-profit status by the US Internal Revenue Service and awarded a start-up grant from the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation. Projects soon followed, including the use of satellite and aerial imagery to study the landscape impacts of natural gas drilling on the Rocky Mountain west, reveal commercial fishing vessels "fishing the line" around marine protected areas, and show the growth of strip mining for coal and other minerals around the United States.