January 2026
An Aerial Perspective on a Proposed Data Center in Montana
Flying over the town of Broadview, Montana, the site of a proposed 5,000 acre AI data center.
Photo by Chris Boyer.
When LightHawk volunteer pilot and staff member Chris Boyer took off earlier this month, his destination was a small agricultural town in central Montana. Broadview is home to about 150 people – farmers mostly. Their small town is attracting a lot of attention these days. A proposed 5,000-acre AI data center has raised concerns among local residents and conservation experts at our partner organization, Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC), about its potential impact to the area.
Data centers are warehouse-sized facilities filled with thousands of computers. They provide the computational muscle behind AI, internet searches and streaming services, but they also require substantial resources. Powering the servers inside a data center uses immense amounts of electricity – often generated by fossil fuels in Montana. Data centers also are major users of water to cool the servers and can consume as much as five million gallons a day.
LIGHTHAWK IN THE NEWS
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- Enviros ask judge to rescind decisions allowing exploratory drilling in Patagonias
- Farmers are in line for billions of bailout money. Will it be enough to offset losses?
- Dispatches from the Wild: Taming the Big Sky
- Western Water Crisis Boiling Over
PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Photo by John Baker
With coolers full of juvenile abalone, volunteer pilot John Baker was headed south along the Southern California coast when he captured this image of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean, framed by the wing of his Mooney M20M. On this flight, John became the latest member of Team White Abalone, supporting the recovery of this endangered marine snail by transporting thousands of juvenile abalone from the UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab to Southern California facilities where they will continue to grow before being out-planted to the ocean. This photo captures a moment of beauty during a flight for marine conservation!
FOR THE FUTURE OF CONSERVATION
Photo by Chris Boyer
Some of our most dedicated supporters choose to make a legacy gift to LightHawk, helping ensure that conservation from above remains possible for years to come. It’s one way to support the landscapes, wildlife, and communities you care about—now and in the future.
If you’re considering including LightHawk in your will, this simple language may be helpful:
“I give to LightHawk (a nonprofit organization), PO Box 2751, Grand Junction, CO 81502, Tax ID #84-0852104, _____ to be used for its general, unrestricted purposes.”