Eco-Pilot

From: Homelands Productions
Series: Border Stories
Length: 11:57

Profile of Sandy Lanham, an "eco-pilot" who helps Mexican environmentalists track endangered wildlife. Winner of the 2002 Gracie Allen Award. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Eco-Pilot
From: Homelands Productions

Lanhamplane_small Federal and state fish and wildlife agencies in the US employ hundreds of pilots to track endangered wildlife. But across the border in Mexico, there are very few who do that job. One of them is Sandy Lanham. She flies her 1950s Cesna airplane hundreds of hours each year above Mexico searching for leatherback turtle nests, counting pronghorn antelope, and scanning the Gulf of California for giant blue whales. This profile, by Barbara Ferry of Homelands Productions, won a Gracie Allen Award from the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television. In 2001, shortly after the piece was reported, Lanham received a MacArthur Fellowship.

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Piece Description

Federal and state fish and wildlife agencies in the US employ hundreds of pilots to track endangered wildlife. But across the border in Mexico, there are very few who do that job. One of them is Sandy Lanham. She flies her 1950s Cesna airplane hundreds of hours each year above Mexico searching for leatherback turtle nests, counting pronghorn antelope, and scanning the Gulf of California for giant blue whales. This profile, by Barbara Ferry of Homelands Productions, won a Gracie Allen Award from the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television. In 2001, shortly after the piece was reported, Lanham received a MacArthur Fellowship.

Broadcast History

Broadcast on Living on Earth in October 2001 and April 2007

Transcript

[SOUND FROM AIRPORT]

FERRY: Sandy Lanham walks around her tiny airplane doing a safety check before taking off from La Paz' airport. Her long brown hair whips around her face as she leans over the propeller on the windy tarmac, surrounded by giant Aero Mexico jets taking off and landing.

LANHAM: Feel the propeller, in case a stone hit it the last flight. See if there's any nicks or cracks or anything bad.

FERRY: Lanham's plane, nicknamed Emily, is a 1956 Cessna. Its chipped yellow and brown paint gives it a raggedy look. But Lanham says Emily has earned her scars. The plane is the oldest of its model still in the sky.

LANHAM: I like that it's an old airplane, and I think it's doing the best work of its life, at the end. It appeals to me, gives me hope. I tell people it has bad paint and a good heart. [Laughs]

FERRY: Sandy Lanham founded Environmental Flying Services after...
Read the full transcript

Timing and Cues

SUGGESTED INTRO: Federal and state fish and wildlife agencies in the US employ hundreds of pilots to track endangered wildlife. But across the border in Mexico, there are very few who do that job. One of them is Sandy Lanham. She flies her 1950s Cesna airplane hundreds of hours each year above Mexico searching for leatherback turtle nests, counting pronghorn antelope, and scanning the Gulf of California for giant blue whales. In 2001, Lanham received a MacArthur Fellowship for her work. This profile, produced that same year by Barbara Ferry of Homelands Productions, won a Gracie Allen Award from the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television.

00: BEGINS WITH AIRPLANE SOUND

11:40: ENDS WITH "How can you be any better than that?"

11:40 to 11:56 DEADROLL MUSIC

SUGGESTED OUTRO: That story was produced by Barbara Ferry for Homelands Productions as part of the series Border Stories. For more information, visit www.homelands.org.