Mountains to the Sea: Belize flights aid coastal habitat ... - LightHawk

Championing environmental protection through the unique perspective of flight.
VOLUNTEER PILOT
SPOTLIGHT
Michael Sullivan
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Mike first encountered
LightHawk
when he met
founder, Michael
Stewartt, in
Guatemala. He
subsequently flew
there for an agricultural
co-op concerned with obtaining
sustainably-sized land parcels for
indigenous farmers. An aeronautical
engineer by trade, Mike later flew in
overseas in locations like Tanzania,
where he supported a medical program
that provided a “flying doctor”
service, and in Indonesia, where he
provided transport for Dutch priests
to areas that otherwise would have
taken weeks to reach. Mike also has
worked on documentaries about
WW II and the plight of Guatemalan
refugees, and currently is working
on a homebuilt aircraft. He and his
wife, Tina Lang, have five children.
Brent Witters
Guadalupe, California
Brent has flown
for cargo and
corporate airlines,
is a jump zone pilot,
and recently was
hired to fly a
Citation Excell for
a fractional ownership
operation. He had one of his
best aviation experiences, however,
flying for LightHawk in Costa Rica
this past season. This exceptionally
busy pilot also runs an online
company, called Unconventional
Medicinals ÖÂ, that specializes in
performance balms, including one
called Leg Salsa. (For a treat, check
out http://www.unconmed.com.) To
round out his resume, Brent served
as flight instructor to former
LightHawk board member Barbara
Rowell, while she was serving
on the board!
Michele Gangaware and Laurie Martin
LightHawk’s work in Belize extends across
diverse issues, cultures, and landscapes, but
none as rich as the lands that link the mountains
of the Maya Mountain Marine Corridor
(MMMC) to the Mesoamerican Reef System, the
largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere.
For nearly two decades, LightHawk has assisted
more than 70 organizations in managing biological
corridors and freshwater ecosystems, and strengthening
community-based conservation projects.
Nearly Unrivaled Diversity at Stake
The MMMC encompasses nearly one million
acres and connects the untrammeled wilderness of
tropical forests and pine savannahs of the Maya
Mountains with the mangrove forests, cayes, and
offshore Belize Barrier Reef. An ecological jewel,
the MMMC is teeming with jaguars, ocelots and
black howler monkeys as well as 500 species of
birds, including scarlet macaws and keel-billed toucans.
Belize’s intricate mangrove coast, surrounded by
more than 200 coral cayes of the Belize Barrier
Reef, provides one of the richest habitats in the
Caribbean. Seagrass beds, lagoons, wetlands and
estuaries are home to manatees, turtles, dolphins
and unusual species such as the giant jewfish, which
can weigh over 600 pounds. Bordering the reef,
there are three atolls — Lighthouse Reef, Turneffe
Islands, and Glovers Reef.
Key to maintaining the ecological health of the
region is to understand the link between the mountains
and the reef. With over 12 feet of annual rainfall,
the highlands of the MMMC are indelibly
connected to the lowlands via runoff from six
watersheds and a series of rivers. These waterways
serve as a place for rare and endangered species that
migrate freely from the mountainous areas to
coastal lowlands to gather for food and breeding. If
inland waters are degraded, not only do fish and
mammals living in the streams suffer, but ecologically
sensitive estuarine and near shore marine habitats
and coral reefs do as well.
SUMMER/FALL 2005
Focus: Mesoamerica
LightHawk works primarily in western
and northeastern North America
and Mesoamerica
Mountains to the Sea: Belize flights
aid coastal habitat protection
A Growing Economy Threatens Critical
Resources
Until recently, the greatest threats to this region
were from natural events such as hurricanes and
coral bleaching. But pressures are mounting due to
escalating development, continued slash-and-burn
agriculture and deforestation, increased commercial
and recreational vessel traffic, and a growing citrus
and banana industry. Overfishing and a steady rise
in reef-related tourism activities, such as snorkeling
excursions, are leading to reef damage as well.
Though mangrove forests and seagrass beds are
recognized as an important component of the
marine ecosystem, filtering river water and providing
critical habitat for many threatened species,
they are being destroyed at an alarming rate also.
Pollution from industrial development, citrus production,
sewage discharge, sediment runoff from
gravel extraction, and the destruction of inland
forests directly impact this fragile habitat.
LightHawk Aids Research and Education
To succeed in the long-term protection of this
region an innovative approach to research and collaboration,
such as that provided by LightHawk, is
essential. The patchwork of protected and indigenous
lands that exist, the rural and inaccessible
nature of these lands, and the limited resources of
the groups and communities involved mean that
more than the standard approach is needed to meet
conservation, social and economic goals.
Supporting Community Education & Collaboration:
The relationship of Maya communities to the
land is embedded in their culture, but protective
land designations often conflict with longstanding
cultural claims, affecting the ability of indigenous
communities to collaborate in land management
efforts. Sharing the “big picture” through
LightHawk flights has proven to aid cooperation
and understanding. Working with Ya’axche’
Conservation Trust (YCT) and LightHawk, community
members are able to gain knowledge of the
lands included in the Golden continued on page 2

Continued from page 1…
Stream Corridor Preserve (GSCP) upon
which they depend to sustain their way of life.
The flights raise awareness about the longterm
impacts of slash and burn agriculture
and unsustainable logging and the relationship
of the watershed and marine environments.
This supports YCT’s mission of
increasing sustainable management of GSCP
while enhancing the socio-economic development
of the local Mayan communities. It also
is hoped that passengers on these flights will
share this knowledge and be more conscious
of their place within the environment.
Promoting Reef Protection Locally:
Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine
Reserve comprises a 15,000-acre marine
reserve and 12,000 acres of terrestrial reserve
and is one of the seven marine protected areas
within the Belize Barrier Reef designated as a
United Nations World Heritage Site. It is
breeding grounds for marine and coastal
birds, green sea and loggerhead turtles, and is
the seasonal spawning bank for the nassau and
yellowfin groupers. Local communities
depend on the rich marine life of the coastal
area for food. Many of the fishing methods
used here, however, are not sustainable: gill
nets, exploitation of spawning aggregation
sites, and trawl shrimping all result in the
depletion of species and their habitats, and
ultimately reduced income and unemploy-
The MMMC corridor is composed
of a number of coastal and
marine protected areas, including
Bladen Nature Reserve, Maya
Mountain Forest Reserve, Payne’s
Creek National Park, Port
Honduras Marine Reserve and
Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve.
ment for fishermen. The beauty
of the reserve also provides economic
benefit through tourism.
Clearly, the economic health of
the region is dependent upon
and inextricably linked to the
health of the coral reef system.
LightHawk flights over this
unique area help Green Reef
(GR) teach local commercial
fishermen just that. These
flights, and those conducted as
part of a reef outreach program
through the United Nation’s
Community Management of
Protected Areas Conservation
Project (COMPACT), involve
members of the fishing communities
in coastal zone management
issues and fisheries observation —
supplying alternative employment, and at the
same time, promoting the health of coral reef
ecosystems. This process stimulates local participation
in coral reef conservation efforts.
LightHawk has completed nearly two dozen
such missions through the COMPACT program.
LightHawk as a Tool for Research:
Since 2003, LightHawk flights have carried
researchers from the Smithsonian Institution
over the mangrove environments on Turneffe
Atoll and Twin Cayes, a small archipelago
located just inside the crest of the barrier reef.
Unlike the other atolls, Turneffe is not a
ringlet of sandy islets, but instead is uniquely
covered with thick green mangrove and a shallow
lagoon. The lagoon and mangrove-lined
coast create a juvenile nursery that supports
an abundance of healthy marine species, but
runoff and sedimentation from development
and agriculture, unsustainable logging, and
illegal fishing practices threaten its health. By
documenting the changes occurring to the
area over time, scientists can assess long-term
impacts from these threats and evaluate new
threats. For example, flights carried out in
2003 and 2004 clearly documented evidence
of sedimentation from shrimp farms migrating
across the lagoons to the reef environment,
dispelling the belief that this occurrence
is rare. Those photos were shared with the
Government of Belize.
Technical Assistance in a Marine Environment:
Annual flights with Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS) help researchers observe reef
health and predatory marine animals surrounding
Turneffe Atoll and Gladden Spit
and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve. Populations
of large migratory fish have declined steeply in
the region over the past two decades due to
overexploitation. While conservation of
migratory animals requires understanding of
the movements of individual animals and
populations, efforts to manage or protect
these species have been constrained by a lack
of knowledge of their behavior. LightHawk
flights allow WCS to determine optimal sites
to place acoustic receivers that helps track
these movements by locating reef passes that
the fish use to travel. Data gathered will be
used to develop marine reserve plans in collaboration
with local governments. In the
seven years LightHawk has aided this work,
critical habitat for species like the endangered
Goliath grouper and the recreationally important
Permit have been identified.
Protecting Aquatic Species:
Surrounded by magnificent limestone hills,
mangroves, and marshes, the lagoons of Belize
provide an important manatee habitat. In fact,
Belize harbors the most Antillean manatees in
the Caribbean, with population estimates near
350. Considered vulnerable by the World
Conservation Union, however, the species is at
risk of decline in Belizean waters due to poaching,
coastal development, habitat degradation,
and watercraft collisions. To prevent this
decline, several organizations working with the
Belizean government are strengthening conservation
efforts, beginning with surveys that
allow researchers to monitor the distribution
of the manatee in Belizean waters. For nearly a
decade, annual manatee census flights provided
by LightHawk for the Coastal Zone
Management Authority and Institute have
played an important role in conservation
efforts of this aquatic mammal. Manatee census
flights also aid the Oceanic Society in
monitoring a small population of the species at
Turneffe Atoll, whose existence was discovered
during a previous LightHawk flight.
LightHawk will continue its partnerships
in Belize this year, providing an innovative
tool in the sustainable management of Belize’s
rich ecological diversity. With our help, the
inaccessible becomes tenable, cutting-edge
technology meets indigenous cultures, and
results emerge through outreach, education
and long-standing partnerships. LightHawk
will continue filling this niche as only we can.

WHAT’S NEW AT LIGHTHAWK?
LightHawk recently was recognized
by the National Aeronautic Association
(NAA) at this year’s Public Benefit Awards,
which acknowledge the contributions of volunteer
pilots and other individuals and organizations
engaged in flying to help others.
The NAA is devoted to fostering opportunities to
participate in aviation activities, promoting public
understanding of the importance of aviation,
and is the caretaker of several major aviation
awards. The public benefit flying awards, given
in five different categories, were created in 2003
in a partnership between NAA and the Air Care
Alliance (ACA), a nationwide league of humanitarian
flying organizations.
LightHawk Board Member, Darryl Young (l) and
VP Dan Meyer (r) were on hand to accept the
award in the U.S. Capitol from Wyoming
Senator Craig Thomas on September 26.
Cinnabar Foundation matching grant.
Please help us fulfill a $2,000 challenge grant
awarded to LightHawk from the Cinnabar
Foundation of Helena, Mt. in support of our
work in Montana and the Greater Yellowstone
Ecosystem. In order to use these funds,
LightHawk must raise a matching amount from
individual gifts. If you would like to support this
GET INVOLVED!
PILOTS: Join our volunteer pilot team; the
minimum requirement is 1000+ hours as
pilot-in-command.
DONORS: A gift of $35 or more makes you
a member of LightHawk!
ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS:
Become a LightHawk partner.
IN-KIND DONORS: We are in need of
certain airplane and office supplies.
FRIENDS: Please share this newsletter
with your family and friends.
MATCHING GIFT PROGRAMS: Double
your gift; does your employer offer a matching
gift program?
HONOR SOMEONE: Consider giving a gift
to LightHawk in honor of an avid pilot or environmentalist
among your friends or family.
PLEASE DIRECT ALL INQUIRIES to LightHawk • P.O. Box 653 • Lander, WY 82520
Phone (307) 332-3242 • Fax (307) 332-1641 • www.lighthawk.org • info@lighthawk.org.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Rudy Engholm, President • Michael Sutton, Vice President •
Valerie Langer, Secretary • Tuck Colby • Steve
Knaebel • Adine Mees • Ben Pierce • Richard J.
Durden • Terri Watson • Darryl Young.
courtesy of the National Aeronautic Assoc.
effort, please send a donation to our Lander
office noting the phrase, “Cinnabar Matching
Gift” on your check or envelope.
Our heartfelt congratulations go to Outreach
Manager Jan Segna and her husband
Steve Babits, who recently welcomed new
baby girl Shayla into the family. Jan, who oversees
LightHawk’s newsletter and annual report
production, in addition to providing membership
and development support – and planning our
annual fly-in – will be returning to our Lander
office in early 2006.
THANK YOU We wish to thank the
many donors who contributed to LightHawk
between March 23 and October 10 including:
Foundations Island Foundation, Appleby
Foundation, Allan Silverstein, Patagonia Inc,
Phoebe W. Haas Charitable Trust B, John
Feagin, Lara Lee & George Gund Foundation,
Resources Legace Fund, Elinor Patterson
Baker Trust.
Major Donors ($1,000 and over) Preston S.
and Barbara J. Parish, Richard Durden, Sweet
Briar College, David Kunkel, Michael Sharp,
Greenpeace Inc, National Audubon Society,
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, F.J.
Colby, Steven Knaebel, Suzanne Parish,
Anonymous.
Patrons ($500-$999) Barbara L.Brown,
Chris and Bonnie Covington, Ester Quintana,
Milton Bennett, Robert Dismukes, Steve and
Lisa Robertson, Tom and Eleanor Wootten,
Instituto
de Ecologia, Mary Ellen Bates.
Contributors ($250-$499) Colombia Land
Conservancy Inc., Duane Cornell, Edward
Steinman, Michael Kieschnick and Frances
Hall Kieschnick, Reselyne Swig, Richard
Bowen, Ronald Bourque.
Volunteer Pilots Our heartfelt thanks to
the many volunteer pilots who donated their
time and the use of their aircraft to fly for
LightHawk during this period.
We received gifts in honor of:
Susan B. Jordan, Tom Hall, Will Parish,
Gregory Gund
A Special thanks to the following
individuals and organizations for helping to
make our flying in Mesoamerica successful:
Tropic Air, Maya Island Air, Lamanai Outpost,
Bernal Arce.
Our thanks to Continental Airlines
for providing free travel vouchers
for our Mesoamerica program.
LightHawk and BFREE
Protecting the Heart of the Maya Mountains,
The Bladen Nature Reserve
by Jacob A. Marlin
For nearly 20 years, LightHawk has provided
conservationists throughout Belize
with the opportunity to access, monitor
and raise awareness of areas that otherwise would
go largely unseen. This support is most valuable
in an area of southern Belize called the Bladen
Nature Reserve.
The Bladen Reserve, which encompasses
99,700 acres, is one of the last roadless tropical
forest ecosystems left in the western hemisphere.
Commonly referred to as the crown jewel of
Belize’s protected areas system, it lies at the heart
of the Maya Mountains. The biodiversity and
ecological integrity of the reserve is exceptional,
supporting more than 300 species of birds and
healthy populations of keystone predators. More
than 700 species of trees also are found here,
with a higher species-to-acre ratio than similar
forests in Panama and Costa Rica. Due to the
reserve’s remoteness, rugged terrain, and location
near other protected areas, the flora and fauna of
the Bladen remain intact.
LightHawk’s relationship with the Bladen
began in the mid-1980s when staff visited the
area. Awestruck by what they saw in this remote
jungle, and wanting to see it adequately protected,
LightHawk began working with local and
international conservationists to lobby for an
upgrade in protective status from Forest Reserve
to Nature Reserve. Frequent LightHawk flights
taking top-ranking government officials for a
powerful eyewitness experience of the area helped
lead to the declaration of the Bladen Forest
Reserve as the Bladen Nature Reserve in 1990.
This was a critical step for preserving the Bladen,
an extraordinary biological gem, into the future.
Recognizing the need for management and
scientific research in Bladen, my wife and I created
the Belize Foundation for Research and
Environmental Education (BFREE), a nonprofit
organization that acquired 1,153 acres of forest
bordering the reserve. In 1996, BFREE became a
founding member of the Bladen Management
Consortium, a collaboration of local non-governmental
organizations and the Belize government,
which manages the reserve. The BFREE
station remains the only scientific presence in
the area, providing facilities for visiting scientists,
student groups, and interns.
LightHawk and BFREE work for the continued
conservation of the Bladen Reserve. Flights
over the area meet a variety of needs, including
educational flights to increase watershed awareness
among community members, and technical
missions to monitor continued on back page

L ETTER F ROM THE E XECUTIVE D IRECTOR
In August, LightHawk’s Executive Director,
Maureen Smith, advised the board of
directors that she had decided to accept an
offer from a company that had long been
courting her. During discussions regarding her
successor, the board asked if I would consider
stepping into the position. I asked for some
time to consider the offer.
In the week I took reviewing the cards, as it
were, I reviewed the facts of life as they apply to
LightHawk. Foundation funding dropped
noticeably after 9/11, yet the organization
coped by dramatically cutting costs and restructuring
to improve efficiency. The steps taken
were so effective that LightHawk’s internal costs
per flight hour had dropped by almost half as
of 2004, and during that year, LightHawk
volunteer pilots flew more hours than ever.
LightHawk may exceed 2004’s total hours
this year, while further improving efficiency.
LightHawk also received word from the
National Aeronautic Association (NAA) that
LightHawk had won the prestigious
Outstanding Achievement in Support of
Public Benefit Flying Award during my
P.O. Box 653
Lander, WY 82520
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Printed on 10% hemp, 90% post-consumer waste paper
week of consideration. When I heard the
news I couldn’t help but be reminded that
LightHawk has been doing impressive work
for more than a quarter of a century, helping
scores of people and organizations in the fight
against environmental depredation, and I felt
proud that our incredible volunteers were
being recognized.
Consequently, in looking at LightHawk’s
financial position, I recognized that the organ-
Continued from page 3…
encroachment, forest health, river morphology, and fire threats. Surveillance flights
additionally provide the opportunity to monitor areas of the reserve often inaccessible to
the wardens who patrol it; multiple incidences of illegal logging were stopped as a result
of LightHawk flights. Most recently, LightHawk provided a critical overflight that
revealed a series of illegal roads being bulldozed towards the reserve, one of which
BFREE personnel were able to stop the next day. LightHawk flights also often garner
political support by flying key government officials over the area as needed, including the
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources, and Chief Forest Officers.
LightHawk flights draw attention to Bladen and bring stakeholders together. With the
continued dedication and help of LightHawk, the Bladen Nature Reserve has a fighting
chance to persevere as the global treasure it is.
Submitted by Jacob A. Marlin
Managing Director, BFREE
Newsletter comments?
Contact Jan Segna, Editor, at info@lighthawk.org
Polly Ross/LightHawk volunteer pilot
ization is fundamentally sound, with a corps
of determined pilots, dedicated to their environmental
mission and supported by an
extremely competent staff. I also became
fully aware, however, that a major fund raising
drive will have to be undertaken to ensure
LightHawk’s long-term health. Fundraising for
a nonprofit is always a challenge, but because
LightHawk is involved in important work and
is led by people who do their work so very
well, I strongly believe a major fundraising
campaign can be undertaken successfully.
After much deliberation, I made my
decision to become immersed in LightHawk.
Because of my passion for the work LightHawk
has done and still has to do, I left a 27-year
aviation law practice to step into the executive
director position at the end of September.
After 15 years as a volunteer pilot and about
half that on the board of directors, I’m
extremely excited to become an integral part
of the organization that has been important to
me for a significant part of my life. I’m also
extremely pleased that the new board president
is Rudy Engholm, a volunteer pilot with years
of experience in public benefit flying.
The next step for LightHawk is to raise the
money that will allow it to expand its program
operations considerably. Currently we receive
many more requests for flights than we can
accommodate. There is a tremendous need for
our assistance in the environmental community
and our challenge is to raise the necessary
funds for us to meet that need. I’ve stepped
into this position because I believe in what
LightHawk does. I ask you to join me and
help LightHawk grow to meet the everincreasing
environmental challenges to be
faced in the coming years.
—Rick Durden
Executive Director
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
LANDER, WY
PERMIT NO. 197