Conservation Flying Since 1979
From above, everything is connected.
LightHawk puts aviation to work for conservation, helping protect wildlife, water, and landscapes across North America.
What Conservation Looks Like From Above
Some conservation work can only happen from the air.
LightHawk brings aviation into conservation work where a broader view, faster access, or the right aircraft can change what’s possible. Our experienced team works with conservation partners to design missions around the need, then brings together highly skilled volunteer pilots and the aviation resources to reveal change, reach remote places, move wildlife, and strengthen decisions on the ground.
See Our Work in Action
of a landscape into view.
Our Work
Where Flight Makes a Difference
LightHawk’s impact takes many forms, from protecting wildlife and waterways to revealing change across some of North America’s most important landscapes. LightHawk turns aerial perspective into insight, and insight into action.
See how this work takes shape across our priorities:
conservation at scale
Our Impact in Numbers
For more than four decades, LightHawk has put aviation to work for conservation across North America. Thousands of missions, hundreds of partners, and decades of experience show what’s possible when flight becomes a tool for conservation.
Behind every number is real conservation work, from urgent wildlife transport and aerial research to documenting change across vast landscapes, watersheds, and coastlines.
Conservation Flights
Years of Conservation Flying
Conservation Partners
States, Mexico & Canada
Mexican wolf back in the wild
Mission Moments
Hundreds of Wolves and a Second Chance for a Species
When endangered Mexican gray wolves need to move between recovery facilities, ground transport can mean long, stressful hours. LightHawk volunteer pilots make those moves in a fraction of the time, carrying wolves safely and efficiently across the country as part of a recovery effort that has spanned years.
It’s one mission among hundreds LightHawk flies every year, all beginning with a conservation goal and an aviation strategy designed to move that work forward.
One Flight. Lasting Impact.
Newsroom
From the Flight Log
Content: Pilot View
Pilot View: Flying Montana’s Bitterroot Valley
“Ray Lee is a true professional.” That’s how Northern Rockies Program Manager Chris Boyer described Lee after a recent LightHawk…
Content: Featured Missions
Aerial Tours Expose Mine Risk to Bitterroot Watershed
The Bitterroot River winds through a picturesque valley in Western Montana, its meandering path carving a winding streambed across the…
Content: Pilot View
Pilot View: Capturing Aerial Perspective on the Colorado River
The Colorado River Basin is an area of intense interest this year. Record low snowfall has left the river system…
Content: Featured Missions
Protecting Maine’s Landscapes and Waterways
There’s a narrow stretch of water in central Maine called the Serpentine that connects East and North Ponds. From the…
Content: NOTAM
NOTAM: San Diego Fly-In
San Diego Fly-In Brings LightHawk Volunteer Pilots Together Written by Jim Becker LightHawk held the first of our 2026 Regional…
Content: Featured Missions
Telling the Story of a River Under Pressure
The Colorado River supplies water to nearly 40 million people, supports agriculture across the Southwest, and sustains communities, wildlife, and…
Content: Pilot View
Pilot View: Collecting Imagery of New Jersey’s Passaic River
Most pilots avoid the airspace around New York City whenever possible. Volunteer pilot Mike McNamara volunteered for it. Partnering with…
Content: Featured Missions
Improving Urban Conservation in New Jersey
Flying over northern New Jersey isn’t easy. The airspace is complex, but that’s exactly where LightHawk volunteer pilot Mike McNamara…
Content: Pilot View
Pilot View: Documenting Port Pollution in Southern California
Along the coast of Southern California lies the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, a maze of cargo ships,…
Content: Blog
Choosing the Right Aircraft for the Mission
As a new pilot, LightHawk contributing writer Kristin Smith wanted to know how we choose the right aircraft for each…
Content: Featured Missions
Studying Nutrient-Rich Runoff in Florida with Flight
When you think of Florida, you picture clear blue water stretching beyond sandy beaches. But from above, a different story…
Content: Newsletters
On The Wing News: Winter 2026
In this edition of On The Wing, we look at LightHawk’s role in the long-term recovery of the Mexican wolf,…
Fifty flights. Fifty days. Countless impact.
After 47 years of conservation flying, our pilots and partners take to the skies each summer for a unique Challenge — flying missions across North America from Alaska’s salmon rivers to Florida’s mangrove coasts. Join the cockpit, follow along, or help us put the power of aviation to work for conservation.
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Flights logged
Conservation needs a better view. Give it wings.
Your gift helps LightHawk design and coordinate conservation missions, mobilize skilled volunteer pilots, and put the right aircraft to work where aviation can make a difference.