Impact Report
2024/2025
Photo: Evan Anderman | Pilot: Evan Anderman
States
Volunteer Pilots
Missions
Flights
Passengers Flown
Flight Hours
Photo: Brian Smith/Lightsmith Multimedia | Pilot: Cory West
EXPANDING HORIZONS FOR A BETTER WORLD
Jim Becker
LightHawk CEO
Change is in the air. We’ve renamed this publication from the “LightHawk Annual Report” to the “LightHawk Conservation Impact Report.” This is more than a new title. It better reflects the purpose of LightHawk and the impact we strive to achieve. Let me explain.
For forty-six years, LightHawk has been dedicated to protecting and preserving the North American environment for both today’s communities and future generations. That is the goal of every mission. Whether preventing the extinction of a species or ensuring a landscape, coastline, or river can be preserved or restored, LightHawk works to make those dreams a reality. Today, we call that conservation impact.
A good working definition of conservation impact is “increasing the likelihood of the persistence of native ecosystems, habitats, species, and/or populations in the wild.” This definition also captures LightHawk’s role: helping create the conditions necessary for true conservation impact to take place. Real impact is the result of many people and organizations working toward a shared goal over time. LightHawk plays a unique and critical role in hundreds of conservation programs designed to achieve positive outcomes for the environment. And while the timeframe to see true impact is often measured in decades, every step along the way matters.
LightHawk’s most direct step toward conservation impact is the flight. From the air, our missions generate essential outputs: data that guides science, perspective that informs decision-makers, stories that reach the public, and endangered species released to the wild. These early results lead to lasting change: dams removed and salmon returning, land and coastlines preserved, species surviving, rivers running clean. Without those flights, the data is not collected, the stories are not told, the public does not engage, and conservation impact slips further out of reach.
The drive for true conservation impact is what motivates LightHawk staff and the 200+ members of our Volunteer Pilot corps. Every flight is a step toward protecting wildlife, preserving landscapes, and inspiring action from above. I encourage you to read this report and reach out with any questions, knowing that the results made possible by your support keep LightHawk’s mission soaring. For this we cannot thank you enough.
Best,
Jim
WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE SAYING…
Photo: Teresa Hagerty | Pilot: Donald Goodman
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you for this experience. Washington’s National Park Fund’s primary mission is to raise funds and deepen the connection between our supporters and our parks. The Lighthawk experience may be one of the most impactful ways to deepen this connection. The sight of North Cascades National Park from the air truly shows the extent, diversity, and importance of this landscape and the need to protect it.”
Teresa Hagerty
Washington’s National Park Fund
“We never would have been able to learn so much so quickly about sources of pollution in this area without this flight from LightHawk. Out pilot was very professional and capable, and they did an excellent job of positioning us in just the right way. This gave us newfound perspective on the density and scale of pollution across the Lower Umatilla Basin from multiple sources – mega-dairies and feedlots, food processors, power plants, and more.”
Kaleb Lay
Food & Water Watch
Photo: Kaleb Lay | Pilot: Jane Rosevelt
Photo: Maria Parazo Rose | Pilot: Mark Gaponoff
“This flight helped me understand, as a reporter, how interconnected the lands I’m reporting on really are. Because I was able to talk with two of the Yakama tribal councilman on the flight, they explained landmarks and landscapes in a way that I would not have been able to see unless we were all in the sky. Thank you so much!”
Maria Parazo Rose
Grist
“Flying with Lane is always excellent. He was super responsive, a great collaborator in the air and unfazed by the mountainous terrain. For both projects the flight provided a sense of scale and landscape perspective that was simple impossible to capture from the ground or by drone. ”
Benjamin Drummond
Photographer
Photo: Benjamin Drummond | Pilot: Lane Gormley
Photo: Cody Perry | Pilot: Lee Gerstein
WILD PLACES
Wild places are the landscapes that sustain life and inspire wonder. They provide habitat for wildlife, hold the headwaters of our rivers and streams, and surround our communities with opportunities for connection, recreation, and renewal.
Wild places often span thousands of acres, making them difficult to fully appreciate or to understand the threats they face from the ground. Increasingly, these landscapes are under pressure from urban expansion, extractive industries, and a warming planet. By taking to the air, LightHawk reveals their scale and beauty while giving partners the insight needed to act.
This year, we flew 48 missions in support of wild places, totaling nearly 150 flight hours. Our volunteer pilots carried land trust managers, scientists, journalists, elected officials, and agency staff, equipping them to protect wild places, guide on-the-ground action, shape effective policies, and save significant time and resources.
Confronting Beech Leaf Disease in Massachusetts
On Massachusetts’ Naushon Island, vast beech forests are under threat from beech leaf disease. LightHawk partnered with the Commonwealth and the Trustees of Naushon Island to capture aerial views of the island’s forests, offering a valuable assessment of overall tree health. With more than 90% of the forest composed of beech, the potential mortality from BLD could be devastating. The flight provided partners with the perspective they needed to focus and prioritize ground surveys, making conservation efforts more efficient and effective in confronting this emerging ecological crisis.
Flying over Naushon Island to survey the island’s forests to assess overall health. The forest is 90% beech trees and are at risk of developing beech leaf disease. Photo:Arlene Myers Alexander | Pilot: Arlene Myers Alexander
Protecting Utah’s Iconic Redrock Landscapes
Utah’s iconic redrock landscapes are increasingly at risk from industrial development. LightHawk partnered with Rig To Flip, Living Rivers, and the Colorado RiverKeeper to capture aerial perspectives that drew attention to BLM land management decisions with lasting consequences for these fragile places. Influencer Western Water Gal joined the flight, sharing the experience with her wide social media following and amplifying the issue to an even broader audience.
Utah’s iconic red rock landscapes are at risk from nearby mining operations. Photo: Cody Perry | Pilot: Lee Gerstein
Photo: Benjamin Drummond | Pilot: Lane Gormley
Waterways
Life depends on water. As demand grows and supplies diminish, conserving and protecting our nation’s waterways has never been more important.
From the Colorado River in the drought-stricken West, to dam-free restoration on the Sammish River in the Pacific Northwest, to the Mississippi and Delaware Rivers in the heartland and East, LightHawk is working with partners to safeguard rivers that sustain communities, agriculture, and wildlife.
These waterways stretch for hundreds of miles, making ground-based surveys costly and time-consuming. From the air, LightHawk gives partners the ability to capture imagery and data in hours that would take weeks from the ground, while also revealing how rivers wind through wild places, communities, and farms before reaching the ocean. Each bend and confluence shows the connections and threats that ripple downstream.
By making these patterns visible, LightHawk equips partners to tell powerful stories, strengthen science, and drive solutions that protect water for people and nature alike.
Photo: Alexander Heilner | Pilot: Evan Anderman
Flying to Reveal the Disappearing Great Salt Lake
As part of his long-term project documenting water challenges in the American West, photographer Alexander Heilner partnered with LightHawk to capture striking aerial images of the Great Salt Lake. Our flights made it possible to document the lake from the sky, revealing the alarming pace of its decline. Some researchers warn the lake could disappear within the next decade, with devastating consequences for both people and wildlife. By providing this perspective, LightHawk helped bring national attention to an unfolding crisis and underscored the urgent need for conservation of this vital resource.
Capturing What’s at Stake for the Mighty Mississippi
The Mississippi River, one of America’s most vital waterways, supports millions of people, farms, and wildlife along its path. LightHawk partnered with the Mississippi River Watershed Partnership to document the river’s health above Minneapolis and capture imagery that reveals both its importance and the mounting threats that ripple downstream. These photographs are now being used (in a wide variety of media) to raise public awareness and inspire action to protect this essential resource.
Photo: Steven Marking | Pilot: Jason Guinnee
Photo: George Eppig | Pilot: Robert Panebianco
Preserving Pennsylvania’s Coldwater Fishery
In Pennsylvania, LightHawk joined forces with The Nature Conservancy and photographer George Eppig to document the Cuffs Run watershed, home to a coldwater fishery that supports Eastern Brook Trout. A proposed water storage project threatened the health of the watershed, the local community, and the trout’s rare habitat by flooding hundreds of acres of natural land along the Susquehanna River. Aerial images captured during the flight highlighted the urgency of protecting this ecosystem and strengthened the case for its preservation.
Photo: Teresa Hagerty | Pilot: Donald Goodman
Oceans & Coasts
Our oceans and coasts sustain life, culture, and economies, yet they are increasingly vulnerable to rising seas, development, and resource extraction. From tidal marshes in the East to kelp forests in the Pacific Northwest, these ecosystems face mounting pressures that demand new strategies for protection.
LightHawk works with partners to address these challenges from the air. Our flights have documented King Tide events to help communities plan for sea level rise, supported Native nations and scientists monitoring fragile kelp beds, and carried biologists surveying eelgrass and other marine habitats. We also provide elected officials and community leaders with firsthand views of vulnerable coastal landscapes, giving them the perspective needed to strengthen restoration and resilience planning.
By connecting science, policy, and communities with an aerial perspective, LightHawk expands the impact of conservation efforts along the coasts and oceans that so many people and species depend on.
Photo: The Nature Conservancy | Pilot: David Morrison
Engaging Leaders to Protect New Jersey’s Marshlands
This year, LightHawk partnered with The Nature Conservancy in New Jersey to engage Congressman Andy Kim in critical conversations about marsh restoration and degradation. From the air, he gained a firsthand view of marshes at various stages of decline, underscoring both the urgency of the problem and the need for action. By providing this perspective, LightHawk helps decision-makers better understand conservation challenges and build momentum for lasting change.
Monitoring Kelp Forests in the San Juan Islands
With bull kelp forests in steep decline across Puget Sound, the Samish Indian Nation turned to LightHawk to help monitor beds in the San Juan Archipelago from the air. With support from our volunteer pilots, specialized near-infrared cameras were mounted to the aircraft to capture a clearer picture of kelp growth. These flights provided critical seasonal data, helping the Samish Department of Natural Resources protect a habitat that sustains marine life and culturally significant species such as orca, salmon, and crab.
Photo: Sophia Ammons | Pilot: David Riffle
Photo: Matt Gove/Surfrider | Pilot: Gilberto Velez-Domenech
Wildlife
Wildlife conservation has become one of the fastest-growing areas of LightHawk’s work. Our efforts focus on two critical needs: transporting endangered species and monitoring populations from the air.
Transport missions support recovery programs by moving animals between facilities or to release sites in the wild. By flying from smaller airports, shortening trips, and allowing handlers to accompany animals, our volunteer pilots reduce stress and improve outcomes for species at risk.
Monitoring missions give biologists the ability to track wildlife across rugged terrain that would be nearly impossible to survey from the ground. From the air, LightHawk helps locate animals, follow migrations, and collect real-time data that strengthens conservation and recovery strategies.
With commercial airlines increasingly reluctant to carry wildlife, LightHawk provides the specialized capacity needed to keep recovery programs moving forward. Each successful transport underscores the irreplaceable role of our volunteer pilots in protecting species at risk of extinction.
Transporting Species at the Brink
In partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center, our pilots flew four missions transporting masked bobwhite quail to release sites in Arizona. Each flight carried up to 200 chicks, avoiding 20-hour vehicle trips and allowing the birds to arrive in better condition. Lower mortality and higher survival after release are accelerating efforts to establish a self-sustaining population in the wild.
We continue to work with UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab and partners across California to transport millions of endangered white abalone to specialized facilities where they are raised before being outplanted into the Pacific Ocean. These missions directly support recovery of one of the rarest and most endangered marine invertebrates on Earth.
Photo: Alex Jackson | Pilot: Benjamin Cohen
Photo: Dave Meyer | Pilot: Barbara Filkins
Aerial Surveys of Endangered Species
When biologists need to track wildlife across hundreds of square miles of rugged terrain, they turn to LightHawk. Beyond endangered species transport, our aerial monitoring has become an essential tool for conservation.
In California, LightHawk supported monitoring of two critical populations this year: Island Foxes on the Channel Islands and endangered California condors. These flights provided a perspective impossible to achieve from the ground, helping biologists locate animals, collect telemetry data, and assess population health— work that informs recovery plans and strengthens long-term survival prospects for these iconic species.
Wolf Recovery Across North America
Wolves play a vital role in healthy ecosystems, yet their populations have been reduced or eliminated across much of their historic range. LightHawk is helping reverse that trend by providing safe, efficient transport for recovery programs.
In Colorado, LightHawk transported 15 gray wolves from British Columbia, Canada for Colorado Parks and Wildlife in a landmark reintroduction, restoring the species to the state after nearly a century of absence. Through the Red Wolf SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) program, we also transported critically endangered red wolves between breeding facilities across the country to strengthen genetic diversity and improve long-term viability. In the Southwest, we partnered to cross-foster Mexican gray wolves, flying pups from captivity to wild dens where they are adopted by wolf parents and raised as part of the pack.
Together, these missions are rebuilding populations, reinforcing genetic resilience, and giving wolves a renewed chance to thrive in their native landscapes.
Photo: Red Wolf SAFE Program | Pilot: David Morrison
Photo: Rachel Linden | Pilot: Ken Adelman
Climate Resilience
The impacts of a changing climate are often difficult to see from the ground. They unfold across vast landscapes and over long periods of time, making them easy to miss until the damage is severe. From the air, the scope of climate impacts comes into focus.
Miles of coastal flooding from rising seas can be documented. The shrinking shoreline of Lake Mead can be seen in its full scale. And the size and intensity of wildfires, burning longer and hotter than ever before, are unmistakable after a flight over the scars they leave behind.
LightHawk carries elected officials, agency staff, scientists, and journalists to witness these changes firsthand. By revealing what is difficult to see from the ground, our flights help inform policy, advance resilience strategies, and inspire the action needed to confront a changing climate.
Documenting Vanishing Glaciers in the Sierra Nevada
The glaciers of the Sierra Nevada are essential to the region’s watersheds, ecosystems, and cultural identity. Yet a warming climate is shrinking them rapidly, with many already gone.
To bring attention to this crisis, artist Tristan Duke launched a unique project: harvesting glacier ice and molding it into a lens through which he photographs the very glaciers at risk. This year, LightHawk partnered with Duke to extend his project from the air, capturing rare aerial images “through the glacier, of the glacier.” The result is a striking body of work that blends art, science, and conservation, offering a powerful perspective on the urgency of protecting these glaciers.
Photo: Amanda Tennant from the Nevada Museum of Art | Pilot: Wayne Sayer
Photo: ConservationxLabs | Pilot: Alan Marcum
Confronting the Growing Threat of Wildfire
Fire has always been part of the natural landscape but rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns have made fire seasons longer, more intense, and more destructive. Wildfires are now a growing threat to nature and communities across the continent.
To spark new solutions, Conservation X Labs launched the Fire Grand Challenge, a global call for innovations that combine cutting-edge technology with Indigenous, rural, and place-based knowledge. The challenge will award more than $1 million in prizes and support to scale promising ideas.
As part of the launch, LightHawk carried 12 high-profile guests on six flights, giving them a firsthand view of the dangers posed by increasingly frequent megafires. These flights helped build momentum for the challenge and for bold new approaches to living with fire in a changing climate.
Photo: Benjamin Drummond | Pilot: Dennis Fitzpatrick
Volunteer Pilots
Volunteer Pilot Awards
Spirit of LightHawk
Kent Wien
Rockwell Award
Evan Anderman
Rookie of the Year
Jay Apt
Carpenter Award
Jack Long
President’s Award
Chuck Schroll
Volunteer Pilot Roster
Our volunteer pilots are the wings that lift our organization. They donate their time, their aircraft and their resources to make flights happen. We work with a group of amazing, professional, and skilled pilots. Their commitment to conservation flying is a continuing encouragement for LightHawk staff.
Nadim Abuhaidar | David Acker | Brian Adams | Gabrielle Adelman* | Kenneth Adelman* | Jim Afinowich | Terry Alberta | Thomas AmRhein* | Evan Anderman* | Steve Anderson | John Anson | Jay Apt* | John Baker* | Bryan Baker | Daniel Barley | Michael Baum* | Jim Becker Jr | Greg Bedinger | Milton Bennett | Jon Berman | Eric Berman | Jay Beveridge | Ernie Bitten | Brent Blue | John Bone | Chris Bonter | Sean Booth | Zach Border | Chris Boyer* | William Brine | Norman Brod | Jason Brooks | Adam Broun | Gregory Burnett | Brandon Butsick | Anthony Carson | Alison Chalker | Scott Cianchette* | Bob Cipolli | Benjamin Cohen* | Peter Coltman | David Comarow | Wayne Connor | Denise Corcoran | Robert Costello | Warren Dean* | Matthew Debski | Edward DeCastro | Robert Decker* | Mark Dedon* | Thomas Dillon | James Dingess | Rick Durden* | Joseph DuRousseau | Noam Eisen | James Elegante | Daniel Evans | Jeffrey (Duffy) Fainer* | Barbara Filkins* | Les Filler | Kurt Fischer* | Joseph Fischetti | Aaron Foster | Kenneth Foster | Todd Freeman | Varel Freeman | John French | Jamie Gamble* | Mark Gaponoff* | Steven Garman | Peter Geiler | Lee Gerstein* | Bob Gill | Clifford Gill | Gerald Glaser* | Martin Goldfarb | Adam Goldstein | Donald Goodman* | Peter Gordon | Lane Gormley* | Emil Gould | Howard Greenberg* | David Grimm* | Jason Guinnee* | Thomas Haas | James Haney* | Mark Hanson | Douglas Harford | David Harnitchek | Barry Harper* | Lee Harris* | David Harris | Mike Hart | Benjamin Harvey | Eric Haskel | Hal Hayden | Jeffrey Hazlett | Randall Henderson | James Herring | Laura Herrmann | Charles Heywood | Jonathon Hinson* | Susan Hostler | David Houghton | Scott Humphries | Rick Hunt | Arthur Hussey III | Steve Isom | Richard Jacobs | Eric Jakimier* | Michael Jesch | David Joecks | Kirk Johnson | William Joyner | John Kamburoff | Jerry Karlsberg | Joe Keeton | Chris Keithley | Robert Keller* | Steve Kent* | Alan Kinback* | Joe Kirby | Steve Kiss | Kenneth Kleinberg* | Jim Knowles | Gunther Koblmiller | Richard Koril | Jason Kozak* | Robb Kulin | David Kunkel | Nathan Kurth | Paul Kutler | Hubert Lacey | John Lacey | Fred Lagno | Vincent Lalomia | Jonathan Lampitt | Robert Lange | Michael Langston | Timothy Lapage | Andreas Lauschke | Tom LeCompte | John-Michael Lee | Ray Lee* | Ted Leenerts | James Levy | Roy Lewallen* | Jeremy Lezin | Gary Lickle | Jack Long* | Allen Low | Larry Lowenkron | Douglas Lumgair* | Tom Lunsford | Matthew Machen | Mark Mantei | Erin Manzitto-Tripp* | John Marcinkevich | Alan Marcum* | Miguel Marin | Paul Martin | Louise Mateos | James Matthews | Carl Mattson | Debi Maucione | Michael Maya Charles | Michael McBride | Wayne McClelland | Worthy McCormick | Richard McCraw | Bruce McLean | Mike McNamara* | John Merritt | Steve Meyer* | Wolfgang Meyn | William Mims | Anne Minder | Doug Monger | Trevor Moody | David Morrison* | Fredric Moskol | Wayne Munson | David Murphy* | Gordon Murray | Arlene Myers Alexander* | Joshua Myslik | Val Nasano | James Negris | Theresa Nelson | Ken Newbury | Jane Nicolai | Christopher Noth* | Bruce Nourish | Paul Novak | Gerold Noyes* | Archer Olmer | David Osher | Robert Panebianco* | Doug Paris* | Judith Parrish | Gregory Paulin | Larry Petro | Steve Phillabaum | John Priscu* | Kate Proctor | William Psaledakis | Sandy Quillen | Charles Rapalje | Tomer Regev* | Rex Reynolds | Ross Rice* | Jim Richards | Alyson Rieken | David Riffle* | Kevin Roache | Mark Robidoux | Nelson Ronsvalle | Chuck Rosenfeld | Jane Rosevelt* | Bill Rush* | Nathan Rydman* | John Sandvig | Wayne Sayer* | Michiko Saylor | Jim Schmidt* | Michael Schroeder* | Chuck Schroll* | Susan Schwaab* | Terry Scott | Scott Sedam | David Shapiro | Dan Silvers | Douglass Sisk* | Bob Smith | JP Soldo | Tom Spalding | Michael Spurgeon | Frank Steeves | Jay Steffenhagen | Dick Stone | Joe Stringer | Robert Thomas* | Zachary Thomas | Art Thompson | Timothy Toal | G.Val Tollefson | Wayland Tonning | Rick Turley* | Marijke Unger | Rick Utermoehlen* | Peter Valchev* | Gilberto Velez-Domenech* | Michael Venturino | Greg Vernon | Michael Vivion | Herb Wagers | Richard Walker | Park Walker | David Warner* | Peter Watkins | Terri Watson | Ken Wayne | Craig Weaver | Chuck Weisenseel | David Weissman | Lynn Welling | Rich Wellner | Stephanie Wells | Cory West | Michael White | Kent Wien* | Brian Williams* | Steve Williams | Rhon Williams | John Wilson | Bob Wiseman | Brent Witters | Robert Woodley | Will Worthington* | Chuck Yanke | Julie Yeates* | Andy Young | Scott Young
* Flew mission during 2024/2025 year.
Gone West…
Honoring those who are no longer with us.
David Shapiro
SUSAN WOLBER
Photo: Brian Smith/Lightsmith Multimedia | Pilot: Cory West
Our Partners
We work with a wide range of conservation partners across the continent. Our flights accelerate their on-the-ground work and save them both time and resources, building momentum for the lasting changes they seek.
Agricultural Stewardship Association | Alexander Heilner – Photographer | Archaeology Southwest | Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele | Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center- USFWS | Borderlands Restoration Network | California Institute of Environmental Studies | Captains for Clean Water | Cascades Carnivore Project | Climate Resilience Fund | Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection | Coalitions and Collaboratives Inc. | Colorado Parks and Wildlife | Colorado West Land Trust | Commonwealth of Massachusetts | Conservation Law Foundation | ConservationxLabs | Craighead Institute | Darby Creek Valley Association | David Moskowitz, photographer | Environment News Trust | Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan | George Eppig Photography | Eric Lee – Photographer | Farmington River Watershed Association | Finch No Worries | Fire Adapted Colorado | Food & Water Watch | Friends of Butte Creek | Friends of Penobscot Bay | Friends of the Everglades | Gaudīya Society of Sacred Archaeology | High Country News | Inland Empire Task Force | Inside Climate News | J Henry Fair, Photographer | Loon Preservation Committee | Mahoosuc Land Trust | Maine Coast Heritage Trust-Topsham Office | Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences | Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens Partnership | Mexican Wolf Species Survival Plan | Michael Snyder Photographer | Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk | Mono Lake Committee | National Audubon Society | Native Village of Dot Lake | Natives Outdoors | Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife | Norcross Wildlife Foundation | Northeast Wilderness Trust | Ocean Defenders Alliance | Oglala Sioux Parks and Recreation Authority | Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition | Oregon State University | Oregon Wild | Penobscot Bay Waterkeeper | Pinnacles National Park | Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership | Red Wolf SAFE Program | Rig to Flip | Rivers Coalition | Samish Indian Nation | Santa Barbara Zoo | Save Barnegat Bay | Sebasticook Regional Land Trust | Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute | Sonoran Institute | Sourlands Conservancy | Susquehanna River Basin Commission | Tall Timbers Research Inc. | The Coalition for Wetlands and Forests | The Everglades Foundation | The Nature Conservancy- Maine | The Nature Conservancy-California | The Nature Conservancy-New Jersey, The Delaware Bayshores Office | The New Republic | The Redford Center | The Trustees of Reservations | The Tulalip Tribes | To Nizhoni Ani – Sacred Water Speaks | Tristan Duke, Photographer | Trout Unlimited | Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | University of Colorado- Boulder- Center for Environmental Journalism | University of Colorado, Boulder | Ventana Wildlife Society | Washington’s National Park Fund | White Abalone Captive Breeding Program, UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab | Wild Wonders | Wildlife Safari | Winter Wildlands Alliance | Yaak Valley Forest Council | Yakama Nation Fisheries
Photo: Marcel Huijser | Pilot: Richard Spencer
Our Supporters
$5,000 and above
Anonymous | Appleby Foundation | Ralph Britton | Cornell Douglas Foundation | Dorrance Marine Conservation Initiative | The Eucalyptus Foundation | James and Christine Gamble | The Thomas W. Haas Foundation | David and Gale Knuckle | Jack and Carolyn Long | Marisla Foundation | Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation | Fran Sittig | The Volgenau Foundation | Walton Family Foundation | WELWE Foundation | Sheri Young
$1,000-$5,000
Gabrielle and Ken Adelman | Agricultural Stewardship Association | Anonymous | Bill and Melinda Becker | Kimberly Eckert | Mark and Willow Follett | Katherine Gould-Martin and Robert Martin | Christina Heinle | Steve and Kristine Kent | Ray Lee and Sue Morgensen | Josh and Becky Marvil | Christina and Douglas McVie | Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden | John and Margaret Sandvig | Wendy Shattil | Allan Silverstein | Celia P. Taylor | Textron Charitable Trust | Joanna and Steve Weitzel | Sandy and Will Worthington
$500-$1,000
Janice Anderson | Anonymous | Jim Becker and Mimi Macksoud | Reinier and Nancy Beeuwkes | Matthew Berman | Christopher and Jennifer Boyer | Sally and Tom Cahill | Joel Cutler and Lucinda Wegener | Fanwood Foundation West | Abigail Faulkner and Hobart Guion | Todd Freeman | Deborah Garber and John Tielsch | Robert and Carol Keller via Keller Family Fund, a donor advised fund of the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties | Sal and Carol G. Lalani | Chris and Shannon Lee | Pamela Lichty | Garrison Sickle | Erin and Whitney Manzitto-Tripp | Larry and Gail Mayo | Duncan Milne | Jay and Louise Noyes | Deborah and William Roach Trust | Lisa and Steve Robertson | Nancy Robertson | Barbara Sweet | Blyler-Thompson Charitable Fund | Margot B. Unkel | David Wild | Joanna Winship | Polly Wotherspoon
$250-$500
Bonnie Milne | Julian Veitch | Mary Kaye O’Neill | Jochen Spengler and Elena De Angelis | Gordon Orians | Edward J. Pushich | Richard A Horvitz | Scott Allen Barber | Theodore Lyman | John Fooy | Jason Brooks | Charles Simenstad | Kerry Albright | J Henry Fair | Laura and Arch Brown | The Benevity Community Impact Fund | Wayne and Paula Sayer | Arch & Laura Brown | Jodi Holman
$1-$250
| Edwin Ahrens | Mercedes Agogino | Anonymous | Jim Astin | Joanne Barnes | George and Anita Berlacher | Alex Binford-Walsh | Penny L. Blubaugh | Barbara Burian | Eileen J. Carney | Elaine Charkowski and Edward Oberweiser | Louise T. Chow and Thomas R. Broker | Margaret and Ron Claypool | Mark Cohen | Sharky Cornell | Benjamin Drummond and Sara Steele | Vicki Egesdal | Judith S. Engelberg | Rudy and Grace Engholm | Jerry and Jeanne Fiorito | Mary Ann Frye | Lydia Garvey | Sharon Gaskill | Peter Geiler | Mark M Giese | Michael Gordon | Kelly and Michael Gottlieb | Peter and Joanne Griesinger | Robert and Sharon Handelsman | Randall Henderson | Judith Herzfeld | Kirsten R. Holmquist | Dianna Londrie Hoyt | Rick Hunt | Robert and Tina Hyduke | Kirk and Leslie Johnson | Paul Kent | Paula Katz | Jane Ann Lamph | Robert & Sharon Lenox | Jacopo and Robyn Lenzi | Kurt Lieber | Robert Linck and Leanne Klyza Linck | Henry Lyman and Noele Sandoz | Lucy MacLeitch | Marisia Makowski | Tony and Maureen Malmed | Alan Marcum | Philip Margolis | Steven L Marking | Rebecca Marvil | Debi Maucione | Sarretta McCaslin | James A. McClure | Rick McCraw | Hannah Metzger | Desiree Michael | Angel Montoya | John and Lani Ochs | Nicola Place | Anna Hill Price | Bruce Ray | Julie Richburg | Kevin Roache | Janet Rollin | Polly Ross | Carol Runy | Daniel and Joanne Shively | Randall Siebert | Dan Silvers | Jerry Smith | Jeffrey A. Soots | Monica Stahlmann | Sandy Steers | Donna Stone | Errol Summerlin | Marilyn H. Tam | Kevin and Sara Tolman | Ms. Tomlinson | Stephanie Wells | Richard and Kathleen Westcott | Winston Wheeler | Marcia Wiley | Stephen Williams | John and Jill Winter | James A. Wood | James Wright | Jim Wright
In Honor Of…
- Chuck Schroll – Angel Montoya
- Grace and Rudy Engholm – Blyler-Thompson Charitable Fund
- Jonathan Milne – Bonnie Milne
- Sophia and Samuel Lee – Chris and Shannon Lee
- Volunteer Pilots – Desiree Michael
- Jonathan Milne – Duncan Milne
- Rudy Engholm – John and Paula Foy
- Bob Weisman – Kelly and Michael Gottlieb
- Caroline and Tony Zorc – Kelly and Michael Gottlieb
- Peggy and Andy Kahn – Kelly and Michael Gottlieb
- Mark Dedon – Nicola Place
In Memory Of…
- Jim Roush – Kerry Albright
- Stephen Paul – Jason Brooks
- Key Dismukes – Barbara Burian
Photo: Benjamin Drummond | Pilot: Dennis Fitzpatrick
OUR MISSIONS
Photo: Barbara Filkins | Pilot: Barbara Filkins
OUR FINANCIALS
Photo: Scott Kranz | Pilot: Dan Marks
The View Ahead
At LightHawk, we see the world from a perspective that inspires action. From above, every river, forest, coastline, and community connects into a bigger story that reminds us of both the challenges we face and the possibilities ahead.
With each flight, we do more than document the present; we chart a course for the future. Our view from the sky reveals the changes unfolding across landscapes and ecosystems, and it fuels the partnerships needed to protect them.
The path forward requires vision, collaboration, and perseverance. Together with our pilots, partners, and supporters, we will continue to safeguard wildlife, preserve vital lands and waters, and inspire the next generation of conservation leaders.
We invite you to stay with us on this journey. The view from above has never been more important, and neither has your role in shaping what comes next.
Photo: Alexander Heilner | Pilot: Evan Anderman