Featured Mission – December 2024

LightHawk volunteer pilots flew 187 flights over the year. This is an increase in 40 flights over our 2023 total. It also averages out to just over one flight, every other day. Our program managers have been busy planning each of these flights, coordinating with conservation partners and volunteer pilots, then monitoring each one while it’s in the air before following up with partners to ensure success and track outcomes. Each one of those flights represents not just the hours in the air, but also many hours of planning, all to accelerate conservation success in our focus areas: Wild places/Landscapes (53 flights), Oceans & Coasts (24 flights), Waterways (73 flights), Wildlife (47 flights), and Climate Change (37 flights). *Note: Many flights support multiple focus area conservation efforts.

LightHawk’s volunteer pilots donated nearly 30 days of flight time toward conservation efforts. Our pilots provide the use of their aircraft, its fuel and their piloting skills at no cost to our conservation partners. This represents a serious investment by these dedicated individuals to advancing conservation causes and why we are so grateful for their commitment to flying with LightHawk.

A wide range of conservation-interested people flew with LightHawk’s volunteer pilots this year. From wildlife biologists, to land trust managers, to elected officials and so many more, we took to the skies with people who can and do make a lasting difference for the planet. Each passenger got a view of the environment that is impossible to understand from the ground. Each flight provided valuable data, beautiful imagery/video, and motivation to continue working toward a better future for our environment.

Two hundred and seventy-eight pilots are part of LightHawk’s volunteer pilot community and that number is growing all the time. Just this year, we added an additional 32 pilots to the ranks. Each volunteer pilot brings unique skills and opportunities for LightHawk and our partners. They all have more than 1,000 hours of pilot in command time, making our volunteer pilot corps the most experienced and qualified of any public benefit aviation group in existence. We couldn’t be more proud to be associated with this group of professionals and we continue to extend our thanks for their contributions to our organization and to the planet.

There are LightHawk volunteer pilots and conservation partners in almost every state in the country. We work with a wide range of groups across all regions. From the Everglades in Florida, to the Delware River in the northeast, across to Colorado River Delta in Baja, Mexico and up to Two Dot Village in Alaska, we covered all 4 corners of the country in 2024 and most places in between.

This was the first year in which LightHawk took on the challenge to conduct 50 flights in 50 days for conservation. Launched at the beginning of summer, we spent 7 weeks organizing as many flights as possible to bring attention to conservation issues from coast to coast. Together, we were able to accomplish some great things with our partners. We were also able to share so many stories of both challenges and successes over the course of the challenge. Be sure to check out the Flight Map from the Challenge to see all the details!

Throughout the year, LightHawk flew 13 endangered species transport flights. LightHawk has become a leader in this field. Airlines are increasingly reluctant to transport these important animals. LightHawk flights are ideal, allowing handlers to accompany the animals while minimizing the amount of time the animals spend in crates. This reduces their stress and leads to better outcomes, helping rebuild populations. In total, LightHawk transported:

• 50 Bobwhite Quail
• 1.5 million-plus White Abalone
• 18 Mexican Wolf Pups
• 2 Cheetah Cub
• 2 Red-crowned cranes
• 2 Mexican Wolf adults
• 12 Black-footed ferrets

It’s not easy to keep all these numbers growing each year. From organizing flights, coordinating between partners and pilots, telling the story of our work, fundraising efforts and managing the day-to-day details, LightHawk’s staff are experts in efficiency and keeping planes in the air. This year the staff has been working hard to construct the foundation for LightHawk to Build Momentum for Lasting Change in the coming years. We’re proud of the work that’s been done over the past year and honored to be able to share it with you. Thanks for flying along with us over the past 12 months! We hope you’ll stay in formation as we soar into 2025!