Category: Focus Areas
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Pilot View: Searching for Yosemite’s Elusive Fishers
TThe search for missing fisher M19 took volunteer pilot Mark Dedon and passenger Joe Medley over Yosemite National Park, with Half Dome rising prominently in the foreground. Photo by Joe Medley. Yosemite’s towering forests are home to one of California’s most elusive carnivores: the Pacific fisher. Once on the brink of disappearance in the Sierra…
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Tracking Yosemite’s Elusive Fishers from the Air
Flying over Yosemite National Park conducting aerial telemetry with park staff to locate a missing endangered fisher. Photo by Joe Medley. When a young fisher known as M19 was released back into Yosemite National Park last year after recovering from injury, biologists outfitted him with a small tracking collar to monitor his movements and survival…
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Pilot View: Searching Frozen Lakes for Stranded Loons
An early, rapid freeze on Lake Winnipesaukee raised concerns that loons could become trapped by ice before migrating south. A LightHawk survey flight found no stranded birds, a welcome sign that the loons had already moved on to warmer waters. Photo by Harry Vogel. The Issue Loons are built for water, not land. Their legs…
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Low Snowpack Threatens Colorado River Water Supplies
Snowpack blankets the mountains of Western Colorado, storing water that will feed rivers and watersheds as it melts. Photo: Mark Henle | Pilot: Steve Meyer The snowpack in Colorado is a topic of great interest to the people of Arizona. Why? Because that snowpack is what feeds the Colorado River. The water travels down the…
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Looking for Loons In All the Frozen Places
Flying over Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire to search for loons stranded by winter ice. From above, LightHawk helped partners scan the frozen lake for birds in distress and identify where rescue efforts might be needed. Photo by Harry Vogel. Life as a loon is filled with challenges. One of the most deadly? Mistaking a…