Today, on Earth Day, it’s worth remembering that conservation isn’t about a single place. It’s about systems — landscapes, water, & habitat working together. LightHawk helps partners gain a better perspective on those connections, because protecting Earth starts with understanding it.
#EarthDay
Are you ready to join us on our third 50 In 50 Challenge? We're 2 weeks away from flying 50 flights in 50 days. Support our work by donating online and following us on social media! Come for the photos, stay for the lasting impact on conservation! https://www.lighthawk.org/donate/donate50in50/
Rock your wings for volunteer pilot Robert Decker!
Based in Florida and flying with LightHawk since 2022, Robert brings the same professionalism from his career flying into every mission. Passengers call him outstanding—and we couldn’t agree more!
Thank you, Robert!
#PilotViewFriday #LightHawk
It's Tax Day. Step away from the numbers & see something different. From above, landscapes tell a different story.
LightHawk is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit using that perspective to support conservation. Your support is tax-deductible. https://loom.ly/e0hj5S8
📸 M Erskine, C Boyer, R Paquereau, C Perry
A successful flight doesn’t start in the air—it starts before takeoff.
Routes mapped. Terrain studied. Plans refined.
By the time the wheels leave the ground, every detail is set—turning a flight into a mission that delivers conservation outcomes.
#Conservation #LightHawk #AerialPerspective
From the air, you can scan miles of cliffs in minutes.
That’s how we locate golden eagle nests across AZ, NM, and UT—flying with the Navajo Nation to cover terrain that would take days on foot.
More nests. Better visibility.
#GoldenEagles #Conservation #LightHawk
A winter landscape can hide a lot. Ten years ago, a flight tracked sage-grouse across snow-covered sagebrush in western Wyoming—pinpointing where they gather in winter.
That work helped the Teton Raptor Center, Bridger-Teton National Forest, & BLM define winter habitat on forest service lands.#TBT
What do 50 conservation flights in 50 days actually look like? You’re about to find out!
Starting May 4, the 50 in 50 Challenge returns—bringing together pilots and partners to support conservation efforts from above. Follow along and watch the story unfold.
Join us: https://loom.ly/MAlQIyQ
Today is Zoo Lovers Day—and we’re thinking about the work most people don’t see.
Flying telemetry missions to track California condors.
Transporting wolves for reintroduction.
We work alongside zoos to move endangered species and track their progress in the wild.
#ZooLoversDay
Did you catch the latest LightHawk Conservation FLYer newsletter? We flew over Florida Bay to document sources of nutrient-rich runoff that affects water quality. Flights like this one inform decisions made on the ground which benefits marine plant and animal life!
https://loom.ly/oSPhO-E
We flew the Kennebec River to see how it moves—and where it’s interrupted.
Four dams along this stretch are blocking endangered Atlantic salmon from heading upstream.
From above, the whole system comes into view.
#LightHawk #KennebecRiver #AtlanticSalmon #Conservation #ViewFromAbove
Public lands continue to face shifting protections and growing pressure. Seeing these landscapes from above helps people understand what’s at stake.
A 2017 LightHawk flight over Southern Utah’s national monuments helped bring that story to a national audience.
That work continues today.
#LightHawk
Introducing Free Fall Conservation™
Go from aerial perspective to ground-level insight in seconds. No landing required.
Thrilling. Efficient. Probably not OSHA approved.
(Just kidding. We’ll keep everyone safely in the plane. Happy April Fool’s!) 😂
#AprilFools #StayInThePlane #LightHawk
The border is clear on a map.
From the air, it disappears.
Donors and partners joined LightHawk pilot Will Worthington to fly over the Cuenca Reserve with Cuenca Los Ojos across the U.S.–Mexico border.
These flights change how people see the land—and their role in protecting it.
#Conservation
Algal blooms don’t start where they show up.
LightHawk pilot Jay Apt flew his Beechcraft V35B Bonanza with Florida International University to capture imagery as part of an ongoing study to show how nutrients move across the landscape into the bay, fueling algal blooms.
#Everglades
These islands look remote—and they are.
On the Channel Islands, isolation means small changes can go unnoticed—until they’re harder to reverse. The island fox recovery shows how close things can come to being lost. LightHawk flies to help spot those changes early.
📸 Barb Filkins
#ChannelIslands
As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we’re celebrating the women who make this work possible, in the air and on the ground.
From pilots to partners, your leadership is shaping the future of conservation.💙
#WomensHistoryMonth #LightHawk #WomenInConservation
“Wow, this is just dry to the bone out here,” said Dr. Steve Davis of the Everglades Foundation as he flew with a Miami Herald reporter over the landscape.
Read what's at stake here:
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/c...
📸 Carl Juste, Jay Apt
Maine’s coastal bluffs protect more than the views behind them.
Pilot Jonathan Hinson flew parts of ME's coast, including Popham Beach & Morse Mtn. to document how erosion & rising seas are reshaping these landscapes & guide decisions protecting coastal ecosystems.
📸 JMilne
#LightHawk #Maine
It’s National Puppy Day. Ours just happen to be wolves.
LightHawk helps transport captive-born Mexican gray wolf pups to wild dens, where they’re raised by wild mothers. This cross-fostering effort grows the endangered population and strengthen genetic diversity.
#MexicanGrayWolf #Conservation
Shoutout to LightHawk volunteer pilot Louise Mateos!
Louise joined LightHawk last year and has already completed three conservation missions. Based in California, she flies a Cessna 182, including the mission pictured here with photographer Robert Steelquist.
Thanks, Louise! 💙
#PilotViewFriday
A 2019 LightHawk flight with San Francisco Baykeeper captured aerial images of vessel traffic, industry, wetlands, and the Delta across San Francisco Bay.
Images like these help people understand what’s happening across the Bay and why protecting it matters.
📸 San Francisco Baykeeper
#TBT
Even poets work at LightHawk.❤️
Who can make a ferret fly? A volunteer pilot sure can try! Loaded up in the cabin of a plane, nothing can stop them, not even rain! Going west to find a new home, where the animals are free to roam. We fly partners to help them soar, give today so we can do more!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day from LightHawk.
Here’s to green landscapes, healthy rivers, and the wild places we’re lucky to see from above. 🍀
#StPatricksDay #LightHawk #ProtectWildPlaces #GAviation
Water defines the Everglades.
LightHawk pilot flew Dr. Steve Davis of the Everglades Foundation to view the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir site and other restoration projects helping restore the natural flow of water south through this iconic wetland.
#Everglades #LightHawk #WaterMatters
50 flights. 50 days. One goal: move conservation forward. The 50 in 50 Challenge returns May 4.
LightHawk’s volunteer pilots will complete 50 flights across the country — working with partners where aerial access makes a difference to protect wildlife and landscapes. Let's go!
#50in50Challenge
The biggest barrier to environmental progress isn’t a lack of ideas. It’s hesitation. 1% for the Planet CEO Kate Williams explains why progress rarely comes from perfect plans. It comes from people willing to act.
Proud to be part of the 1% for the Planet network.
Read: loom.ly/bKtVQ-s
#LightHawk
Meet LightHawk volunteer pilot Gerold Glaser. Based in California, Gerold has been flying conservation missions with us since 2021 in his Cessna 170.
Passengers say he’s “fantastic and fun” to fly with. Thanks for helping move conservation forward, Gerold.
#LightHawk #PilotViewFriday
Ten years ago, LightHawk flew an NPR reporter over the Green-Duwamish River, named that year one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers. The images helped bring national attention to a river still working to recover.
Stories like this still influence how rivers are understood & protected today.
#TBT
LightHawk has launched a national search for its next Chief Executive Officer.
After four years of leadership advancing conservation through aviation, CEO Jim Becker will transition from the role in the coming months.
Learn more about the opportunity here: https://loom.ly/eu6x7Vo
#CEOsearch