LightHawk

As a community based conservation organization in Belize, we struggle to find the resources to effectively manage the marine protected area and natural resources entrusted to us. We compete with funding against larger, better known organizations, our limited funds can only be stretched so far, and have to be prioritized. Partnerships are important, filling gaps where we have neither the skills nor the finance to achieve what needs to be done. The partnership with LightHawk, and the aerial flights they have provided has given us the opportunity to advance our knowledge of one of the most important and endangered inhabitant of our protected area - the West Indian (Antillean) manatee.

Starting from a vague idea of how manatees use the area, we now have maps and population counts, we know which areas they frequent and where the mating herds are found at different times of year. We know where we we are going to erect 'no wake' signs, and where we should prioritise patrols against unattended fishing nets, and where we should release rehabilitated animals. With only 800 to 1000 manatees estimated to be left in Belize, and with Belize recognized for having the majority of this endangered Antillean sub-species, we have now confirmed that Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary has a significant role to play in the conservation of this species nationally, regionally and globally.

Without LightHawk as a partner, we would not have been able to achieve this. LightHawk have provided an excellent service, with enthusiastic pilots willing to make the extra effort to ensure the aerial surveys are as effective as possible. They have been professional, helpful and provide an excellent service that helps us to ensure that we have the information we need to do a good job for endangered species conservation.

It was fantastic, great pilot, lots of knowledg, and easy to organize. Captured these photos: http://www.raveneyephotography.com/flatheadvalley while shooting for Flathead Wild and Wildsight

We flew over the Colorado River and the River Delta in Arizona and Mexico. I have lived in the upper basin most of my life and had never ventured this far downstream. The perspective flying over these areas and seeing what impact actions upstream have on those downstream was eye-opening. Thank you, LightHawk, for taking me out and showing me the area!

I started as a volunteer for LH in 1997, then worked awhile on staff, then on the board, and now back to being a volunteer. The mission is unparalleled in its ability to lend a very powerful leveraging tool to any number of environmental campaigns -- but in addition to the tool, the system of having a program manager work to really focus the assistance of LH to the environmental partner lends a value to their work far beyond "just an airplane flight." this is a highly professional organization that prides itself on figuring out how to make a difference, and whose work is much more broad than the flight itself. They are a powerful planning service, and can give a tremendous ROI for both funders and nonprofit partners. Can't recommend them enough.

I flew on a watershed aerial tour a few years ago. I was amazed at how much of a difference this perspective of the land can make. I was amazed and inspired by the flight itself (made me want to learn to fly) but in particular I'm very inspired by the mission of this group. The idea of raising awareness about conservation by taking people on a flight, or exposing environmental wrongs is genius! And the pilots who donate their time and resources are doing an amazing thing. Thank You!!

The aerial view is an incredible, but expensive, tool in the understanding of complex landscape issues, and Lighthawk is a truly amazing organization that makes this tool available, at no cost, to conservation organizations throughout North and Central America.

I am a lifelong conservationist, and a trained hydrologist/geomorphologist, yet I credit the aerial view as being both the cornerstone of my conservation ethic, and the foundation of my understanding of complex landscape processes. Consequently, as soon as I first learned about Lighthawk I became dedicated to joining as a volunteer pilot.

In addition to providing pilots and aircraft to important conservation efforts Lighthawk gives me (and nearly 200 other pilots nationwide), the opportunity to make truly significant contributions to the preservation of habitat and ecosystems.

Mission coordination is accomplished by an amazing staff of regional program directors who review flight requests, pair them with appropriate pilots, and inform the pilots and passengers of the important details about the mission.

I have flown about 230 flight hours on 50 Lighthawk missions providing an aerial vantage point to conservation photographers, journalists, filmmakers, state legislators, tribal leaders, ranchers, scientists, and advocates. I remain convinced that Lighthawk is as effective as a conservation organization can be in breadth, depth, and efficient use of resources.

I have followed Lighthawk for many years and continue to be impressed with the caliber of the volunteers and the real value of the work they do. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but actually seeing the earth from the air and getting perspective on the environment is priceless. I can't think of a more impactful way to deliver a message.

The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) has worked with LightHawk on a cooperative program called Flying for Fish Habitat. The goal of Flying for Fish Habitat is to take decision makers on tours of watersheds were there are important decisions to be made regarding conservation or restoration actions to protect salmon habitat. Without these overflights to get the “big” landscape picture, it is often difficult to build the support and understanding necessary for affecting change. Our program emphasizes and models the power of cooperation and action among many groups. The primarily targets for flight participation are decision makers and community leaders often in the fishing, tribal and agricultural communities. Between 1996 and 2010 LightHawk assisted Flying for Fish Habitat on over 75 flights carrying 325 passengers on 17 watersheds. Participants on the flights report that they would not have come on a “ground-based” tour and often report that the flight has provided novel insights to them and built their support taking action.

During the 15 years Flying for Fish Habitat worked with almost every pilot in the Pacific Northwest. The pilots are always very professional, safety conscious, and well informed but most of all they love their job. The enthusiasm that the pilots bring to their flights is infectious. They are passionate about their planes and they are passionate about the environment.

It has been a pleasure to work with LightHawk.

Sincerely,

Pam Goddard & Fran Recht
Program leaders

I'm a retired Delta Air Lines pilot and have flown for Light Hawk for 7 years. I used to say, boy, if the people making decision could see what I see from the air, they would do things differently. Now I'm flying at 1000 feet above the ground instead of 30,000 feet and both my passengers and I get to experience the unique perspective of environmental issues from the air. Whether it's photo journalists or decision makers that come along, they all walk away with a greater sense of the big picture; how the landscape ties together and how important it is to see that bigger picture vs. just focusing on their own area of interest. I've flown all over Colorado and even made a trip up to the Three Rivers area of the NE Yukon to help the First Nation tribe decide what should be set aside for mining and what should be preserved. Just as my passengers do, I learn from every flight and I am happy to donate my time, my airplane and pay for all the expenses. It is my opportunity to give back and to make a difference in the health of our planet. I'm proud to be a part of an organization that operates out of virtual offices, for the most part, to maximize the dollars contributed while arranging flights for our environmental partners.

I joined LightHawk as a volunteer pilot in 2008. I have met--and flown--professional photographers, land trust managers, congressional staffers, ranchers, biologists and other just plain interesting folks who are trying to better understand a land issue. Without exception, I have learned from them, and in turn each of them has had that OMG! sort of moment during the flight. Getting a bit of elevation, seeing the relationships of ground features, and absorbing the larger view seems to be of great help in how they get back to work on their particular projects. That's really fun for me.

California recently created a string of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along its coastline. There was a years-long and often emotional struggle between commercial and recreational fishermen and environmentalists over where these MPAs would be established. I was able to contribute in multiple ways to the decision making process through LightHawk flights. I conducted several LightHawk flights carrying reporters and photographers from local media (newspaper & TV) over the areas being considered. Each of these fights resulted in reports that gave the public well-balanced views of the issues. I also conducted flights for stakeholders over their specific areas of concern so they could get a better overview of the areas they were considering. And I conducted flights over a two year period for biologists collecting data that was made available to those involved in the decision making process.

I've been a donor to LightHawk for at least fifteen years. I started donating as soon as I heard about it, especially as gifts for people I knew who were or had been pilots. The service LightHawk provides for non-profits, government officials, scientists, and other interested parties is unlike any other - they show them how the area of interest looks from the air. Often the damage being done by some company - mining or logging - is not visible from the road. Similarly, the value of the land and the life on it may not be visible from the road. The aerial view is essential in making planning decisions. The pilots who participate are immensely generous people, donating their skills and time to make LightHawk's work possible.

I am a volunteer pilot for Lighthawk. I have been an environmental activist all of my adult life, and have worked with many of the better-known (and several not-so-well-known) organizations. Lighthawk has what I consider to be a brilliant approach (pardon the pun) which allows it to maximize the inclusion of volunteers from an incredibly broad range of the political/environmental spectrum. The volunteers are typically donating very high-value items such as aircraft use, fuel, and pilot time. This focus on having the high-cost items donated helps maximize the amount of work that the organization can accomplish with a given amount of funds. Lighthawk seems to be very professionally and efficiently run, making good use of modern technology and organizational practices. The volunteer experience is excellent, and from what I have seen, the same is true for the partners who benefit from Lighthawk's services.

I'm a pilot for several non-profit organizations volunteering my time, fuel and airplane in support of their missions. LightHawk is one of the most efficient, organized groups with which I'm associated. I believe their website most accurately portrays their mission: “LightHawk is a volunteer-based environmental aviation organization that provides donated flights to make the aerial perspective freely available to conservation groups.” There's a tremendous amount of preparation and coordination involved in making each mission successful. The Program Managers do an excellent job of insuring that the mission objective is clear and that my passengers are briefed on the limitations of the pilot and the airplane.

LIghthawk is one of the most effective conservation organizations, giving a bird's eye view of the issues on the ground, and continually finding a win-win solution for all partners involved. I have been a volunteer pilot for Lighthawk for almost 15 years, and the number of partners who have participated in these flights have found inspiration to preserve our wild land and to resolve the problems of almost any issue.
I will continue to volunteer my "wings" to assist with reaching the Lighthawk mission.

I have been a Lighthawk volunteer pilot for over 10 yrs. I have very limited resources for donating to non-profit organizations. The single most effective donation I can make is to support Lighthawk by flying volunteer missions. I donate my plane, pilot time, and expenses so that Lighthawk can be just a little more effective. Lighthawk is a very efficient, focused conservation organization that has improved exponentially in the past few years. I am proud to be a small part of a powerful force in saving our world.