Illuminate ~ Empower ~ Protect

LightHawk is a volunteer-based environmental aviation organization that provides donated flights to conservation groups. Founded in 1979, LightHawk provides flight as a tool to accelerate conservation efforts and help our partners make headway in their work. Our partners find that their work is made more effective by flight, and in many cases, they are able to gain information and images that would have been otherwise impossible.

"The view from above allows you to see the land in its oneness and its interconnectedness. Everything down there - the hills and the draws, the rivers and the lakes - are all part of a whole. We tend to forget that... The flight strengthened my resolve to be the best possible steward of this truly remarkable part of the world."
- Bill Carey, Missoula County Commissioner, MT after a LightHawk flight.

LightHawk donates missions across the United States, Mexico, Central America and parts of Canada through skilled volunteer pilots who share the aerial perspective with about 250 conservation partners each year.

Priority boarding: see what it's like to go along on a LightHawk mission.

Go beyond the markers on the map and explore the missions.


News Feed

Hot off the presses, check out the LightHawk newsletter before it hits mailboxes.

Attention pilots and aviation nuts, will you be at "the world's greatest aviation celebration" this year? Come say hi! LightHawk will be at AirVenture held in Oshkosh, WI July 23 - 29, 2012. Visit us at booth 2110.

If they could, orphaned, injured mountain lion cubs Cypress and Ash would thank Joy Covey, a LightHawk volunteer pilot from California who used her Pilatus PC-12 to give their heartbreaking story a happy ending. The April WayPoint flight story has their tale (tail?).

It's time to talk conservation aviation and reconnect with your extended LightHawk family at the annual Fly-In. This year, we'll take over an authentic Colorado dude ranch and experience social events, interesting speakers and plenty of time for outdoor adventures, from fly-fishing to horseback riding. You won't want to miss this one!

Join us as we rediscover lost Mayan highways while cruising with scarlet macaws in the March WayPoint flight story.

Discover how a volunteer pilot and photographer teamed up to help Gunnison, Colorado save their namesake grouse in the latest Tripods in the Sky.


Charity Navigator just announced they awarded us with a third consecutive 4-star evaluation. That means we outperformed 91% of the other 5,500 charities in the US they rate.

We are humbled and grateful for this recognition. Thank you!

Connecting the dots for wildlife, and for pilots. Follow the connections in our February WayPoint story.

The Tortoise and the Air. Check out our January WayPoint story.

1000 miles in 100 days? Check out the latest Tripods in the Sky elevating the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Thanks to our amazing supporters, LightHawk did some amazing things in 2011. Check out our Seven Best from 2011 and our 2011 Snapshot.

Volunteer pilot David Miller shares his experience transporting Aplomado falcon chicks on a LightHawk flight in this month's issue of Twin & Turbine. His article begins on page 21.

Go along as volunteer pilots navigate the busy airspace around Chesapeake Bay and the Delmarva peninsula in this month's WayPoint.

Flying wolf season has begun! Watch a report from the first flight from Oklahoma to Arizona.

A LightHawk donated flight for iLCP photographer Paul Nicklen enabled aerial images to bolster two articles in the August 2011 issue of National Geographic. See more photos in Paul's online gallery.

A guardian of the mangroves takes to the air.

Coming to a mailbox near you, the 2010-2011 View from Above.

Click here to email Bev and request a copy mailed to you.

What do small planes have to do with sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica?

North Country Public Radio flies over the Adirondacks with volunteer pilot Bob Keller.
Fly along on their adventure.

Arizona Public Media explores how biologists are taking to the skies with LightHawk over the Colorado River Delta.

Watching the (eel)grass grow from 1,000 feet.

High winds and cool aircraft at Sun N Fun, Florida.

LightHawk pilots + world-class conservation photographers = Tripods in the Sky

Ride along on a wolf transport flight.

Our latest newsletter has the stories.

Calling LightHawk the "Watcher in the Clouds", check out Portland Monthly magazine's excellent article.

Question: How do dedicated volunteer pilots and world-class conservation photographers use aviation to move conservation forward?

Answer: Tripods in the Sky.

Read what made "Conservation Flyer" Chris Boyer sign up as a LightHawk pilot the minute he reached the required 1,000 hour of PIC time.

Acclaimed photographer and conservationist Dave Showalter profiles Montana's Chris Boyer in his Western Wild online journal.

ABC News covered how conservation "called in the cavalry" to bring attention to the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia. LightHawk provided the aerial perspective for International League of Conservation Photographers to bring attention to plans to transport oil through the Great Bear Rainforest.

 

Volunteer Pilot Jo Duffy talks about flying for California Marine Protected Areas in a radio spot from Public News Service, "Protecting What’s Under the Waves Gets a Look From Above"