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 in the wild. But when M19’s signal went silent, Yosemite biologists and LightHawk quickly launched an aerial telemetry flight to help locate him.

Fishers are small, tree-dwelling carnivores that once thrived throughout Washington, Oregon, and Northern California. Today, they survive in only two isolated populations in California—one near the California/Oregon border and the other in the southern Sierra Nevada. Habitat loss, development, intense wildfires, vehicle strikes, disease, and exposure to toxic rodenticides have all contributed to their decline.

We're one week into our most ambitious conservation mission of the year – The 50 In 50 Challenge. We're flying 50 flights in 50 days in support of conservation projects.

The 50 in 50 Challenge isn’t just about flying — it’s about the collective impact of conservation from the air and on the ground. Your support ensures that these critical flights continue, helping to protect wildlife, waterways, and ecosystems we all need and share.

May 26 – July 14

Photo by Bryn Fragua

This month’s featured photo was captured by Bryn Fragua during a LightHawk flight with the Flower Hill Institute. Flying over historic and culturally significant areas between the Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico and the Hopi lands in Arizona, Fragua documented the striking beauty of this landscape from above.

The Flower Hill Institute is a Native-owned, community-led nonprofit focused on preserving cultural resources, preparing youth for leadership, advancing economic self-sufficiency, supporting agriculture and food sovereignty, and improving climate resilience.

Special thanks to volunteer pilot Brian Williams for providing the flight that made this powerful image possible.

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