Flying north of the border, Ontario-based pilot Adam Goldstein recently completed his very first LightHawk flight. Flying over sections of the 401 Highway in Canada, members of the Algonquin to Alberta (A2A) Collaborative were treated to an aerial perspective of areas that hold potential for wildlife overpasses.

The highway is currently being expanded, making this an ideal time to address the need for wildlife overpasses. Currently, the only ones built in Canada are in Banff National Park. The A2A Collaborative is hoping to recreate that infrastructure along the 401.

Ahead of the flight, the partners had identified two points they were hoping to fly between. Adam worked with them to identify the goals they were hoping to accomplish in order to better refine the flight route and plan. He asked if they were hoping to fly low and identify details on the ground or if they preferred to be higher to gain a better overall perspective of the region.

They ended up flying at 1,000 to 1,500 feet above the ground for the majority of the flight, allowing them to capture details while still having a good perspective on the surrounding topology.

Adam flies a Kodiak. All of the passengers were able to sit along one side of the plane making it easier for him to provide good views of the areas they were interested in. He could put the point on the passenger side of the plane and then circle it, giving everyone the same view rather than having to repeatedly circle in different directions.

The weather for the flight was good though a little windy, making it “choppy.” Adam shared that the stars really aligned for the flight in terms of weather despite the wind. There was some smokey haze from regional wildfires but he estimated the overall visibility was probably close to 80 miles from 10,000 feet.

Adam was surprised listening to his passengers during the flight. He found that they while they had worked in the area for the majority of their career, they had apparently not experienced an aerial perspective of it. They were surprised by how much forested land existed in the area, providing opportunities for landscape connectivity – important for the movement of wildlife. Adam shared that they were expecting more ag land and were pleasantly surprised at the amount of wooded land they were seeing from the air.

He also said he learned a lot from the flight. Working in development, he was familiar with the expansion of Highway 401 but was not familiar with wildlife overpasses. He was surprised to learn that animals like wolves and mountain lions would be likely to use it – noting that he had also learned that several wolves had been hit by vehicles in the area over the last year. “I would have thought there was no way animal like a wolf would go over a bridge.”

After the flight, Jess Lax with A2A said, “The experience was incredibly valuable and provided us with a perspective we couldn’t have gotten any other way.” That’s what LightHawk is all about – providing an aerial perspective that advances conservation in meaningful ways.

We’re grateful for Adam joining the LightHawk volunteer pilot corps ranks and congratulate him on logging his first mission! He came to LightHawk looking for a way to use aviation in a different way – one that made a difference. We would say he’s found it!