Category: Content: Featured Missions
-
Meet Myrtle: One Abalone with a Big Role in Recovery
Flying above Southern California during the trip to Bodega Marine Lab. Photo by Nora Joy Frank. With Myrtle tucked safely in a cooler, LightHawk volunteer pilot Michael Baum handles the flight to get her to her destination. Photo by Nora Joy Frank. Myrtle is one of 10 total wild origin white abalone in captivity. Photo…
-
Documenting Colorado’s Changing Wildfire Landscape
In early October, a trio of LightHawk volunteer pilots met with a group taking part in the Colorado Wildland Fire Conference in Snowmass, CO. These flights were arranged in partnership with Fire Adapted Colorado, a nonprofit working to build support for wildfire mitigation work in areas closest to communities and critical infrastructure. Their work is…
-
Protecting Bull Kelp in the San Juan Archipelago
LightHawk partnered with the Samish Indian Nation on a test flight to prepare for monthly aerial monitoring of bull kelp beds in the San Juan Archipelago. For the Samish Indian Nation, protecting these waters is both a cultural responsibility and a conservation priority. The Tribe combines traditional knowledge with modern science and works alongside state…
-
Documenting Transmission Line Impact to Arizona’s San Pedro Valley
Earlier this month, LightHawk took to the sky with conservation partner Archeology Southwest. The flight aimed to assess the SunZia transmission line and document its impacts on cultural and natural resources. Volunteer pilot Michael Schroeder provided the flight for seven passengers to gain an aerial perspective on the issue. The transmission line construction runs right…
-
Small Passengers, Big Stakes for Mexican Wolves
In early May, LightHawk once again took part in one of North America’s most remarkable species recovery efforts, flying Mexican wolf pups for cross-fostering into wild dens. Mexican wolves came perilously close to disappearing from the wild in the United States and Mexico. Their recovery began with a captive breeding program founded with just seven…