A Conversation with Jane Nicolai – Reflections from a Longtime LightHawk Volunteer Pilot

At LightHawk, we have the privilege of working with volunteer pilots whose dedication, skill, and generosity make conservation possible from the air. Few embody that spirit more deeply than Jane Nicolai, who has flown missions with us for decades.

This fall, we asked writer and fellow pilot Kristin Smith to sit down with Jane to capture some of the stories, insights, and experiences that have shaped her time with LightHawk. What followed was more than an interview — it was a look into the history, heart, and impact of conservation aviation told by someone who has lived it.

From Kristin’s perspective, the conversation was a rare gift.

“The opportunity to hear about the missions Jane has flown for LightHawk and the impact that the organization has had on her life was an incredible gift. I wish I could share every single story she told, but then we’d have a book!” – Kristin Smith

We’re honored to share part of that conversation here.

Q: How did you get involved with LightHawk?

A: In the early nineties I owned a Cessna Cardinal and was part of the Cardinal Club. I went flying with an acquaintance from the club who told me, “You seem like you would fly for LightHawk, do you work with them?” I had never heard of them and neither had my husband, who is also a pilot, but they happened to be giving a presentation near where we lived in Seattle, so we went. It was so amazing and perfect and eye-opening that I immediately wanted to do it! I was fairly apolitical those days, though, and was worried if I was working with LightHawk I might have to work with activists–a friend pointed out that if I was flying for LightHawk I was an activist! Lighthawk was so important to my development as a pilot and a person and a global citizen. LightHawk showed me what matters to me. It took probably a year, year and a half for me to get all the hours I needed, and then I went to my first LightHawk Fly-In in 1994 in Albuquerque. I made friends there that I’m still close with today, including one of the program managers at the time who is now one of my best friends.

Q: Do you have a most memorable LightHawk flight?

A: There were so many amazing people I met–world renowned scientists, journalists, politicians, photographers film makers, and local activists–such a variety of people and areas of expertise, and I never had a flight with that angry activist I had been worried about. People were thoughtful, many people were wildly well-educated, others knew their home area so well.

One flight that stood out was flying with tribal elders from the Colville Tribe in northeastern Washington… One pointed out the exact hill where he shot his first deer. They knew how land ownership had changed, when epidemics had come through, families who lived through it, and families that died, it was amazing, and profound.

Another standout flight was with Russian salmon specialists from Kamchatka… I hadn’t been up in that area of the Cascades before–it looked like it had been hit by a bomb. It was so logged, so hammered, so devastated. One of my passengers said, “we are used to seeing how rich America looks, but now we see what it costs”.

A more positive standout flight–I don’t know how many flights I did for the wild salmon center, Sustainable Northwest, and similar organizations working to take the dams off the Klamath River, and that’s happening now! It’s really exciting when I see on the news that salmon are jumping all over the Klamath River, and I can say yes! I did part of that.

Q: How did you get drawn into conservation?

A: I grew up in Washington State with nature. We camped, we hiked, we canoed, we skied. We spent months at a time in the summer out in the Olympic rainforest, camping in the Hoh, the Queets, the Quinault or on the beaches of Kalaloch.  

My mom had a botany degree, and my dad studied forestry and then worked for Weyerhauser. He genuinely believed that it was the “tree-growing company” that was their tagline. We disagreed but didn’t talk about it. 

I had a funny conversation on a LightHawk flight once: We were flying over eastern Oregon looking for cattle that were grazing illegally on public land and started talking about what our parents did. I said, “Well, my dad worked for Weyerhauser and now I’m out here doing these LightHawk flights.” One of my passengers said, ‘That’s funny, my dad was a gentleman rancher and now we’re out here looking for these cows.’ We looked at the other guy and asked, “What did your dad do?” and he just said, “Well, we’re all out here doing penance”.

Q: Why do you think LightHawk’s mission of conservation from the air is important?

A: (It’s important) because when you are in an airplane with people who hold differing views on what’s going on… and you’re all looking at the same thing there’s common ground. It’s not just a video or a movie – you actually go and get in a little airplane, and for many people that’s novel and a little bit scary. It makes it real. It’s a whole experience and people with differing views can see the same thing.

I did one flight out of Edison, just south of Bellingham, Washington. Taylor Shellfish Company had to close because there was too much fecal matter in the water. I had a biologist and a city manager. They knew that the water was polluted, that people had cabins on the rivers where the toilet flushed right into the river, and cattle grazing, wading, pooping, and dying in the river, but the city manager didn’t want to vote for more taxes. We took off and were barely turning crosswind and she said, “Oh! I know all of this in my head but now I can see it and understand.” She had a great flight, voted to increase the taxes and they cleaned up the river.

Q: What is your advice for pilots and others who would like to volunteer with LightHawk?

A: I would just say go for it. To get to be part of the partner’s work for one day, for whatever group it is, whether you’re looking at river restoration or planning a wildlife corridor, you get to help move the needle in work that is being thoughtfully done across a wide range of issues, ecosystems, and organizations. It is exhilarating, it is magical, you’re still the bus driver but you’re furthering their work and you’re part of their team for that one day and you learn so much and you meet the most–I keep using the word amazing, I’m going to have to go get a thesaurus–just such thoughtful, engaged, knowledgeable, passionate people, and you’ll find out you’re one of them too! Though we donate our time, experience, and expense of the flight, I always came home richer. You will meet amazing people that you just fall in love with, and you will make friends for life with LightHawk.

As Jane steps back from flying with LightHawk, we extend our deepest thanks for the years she spent lifting conservation work into view. Her flights changed conversations, changed decisions, and changed lives. 

If Jane’s story inspires you and you’re a pilot who wants to make a difference, we’d love to talk with you about joining our volunteer pilot community. Your skills can help move conservation forward—one flight at a time.