Dennis Pillion is the natural resources reporter for AL.com, covering the environment, natural history, energy and climate in Alabama since 2015. He previously covered Alabama’s coastal communities and the Florida Panhandle for AL.com from 2012 to 2015 and worked as a sports producer for the site from 2007-2012. He won the Alabama Press Association award for best business story/column in 2020 and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Green Eyeshade award for consumer reporting in 2022. His 2021 series "Ancient Alabama" features a 12-part deep dive into Alabama's natural history and how the ancient movement of continents, wind, water and magma laid the foundation for the state we know today. He has extensive experience covering environmental disasters in Alabama, including the Moody landfill fire of 2023, the Colonial Pipeline explosion of 2016, and the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and Gulf of Mexico restoration efforts. He graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in journalism in 2005 and is a past president of the Alabama Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
