“Mega” Scientist Wins Big

©Courtesy of the Lindbergh Foundation /Kent Flemmer

Equally skilled with a dart gun or a digital camera, Dr. Michael Fay has pioneered a unique brand of technology-driven field science that has earned him the 2007 honorary Lindbergh Award. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) explorer’s epic journeys through the jungles and skies of Africa, dubbed the “Megatransect” and “Megaflyover,” respectively, have captured the imagination of people the world over, brought sorely needed attention to the Congo Basin’s unparalleled wildlife, and resulted in a network of national parks in Gabon.

Documenting the wildest places in Africa has been Fay’s life's work. During his 15-month, 2,000-mile Megatransect from the heart of the Republic of Congo to the Atlantic shores of Gabon, he charted an unbroken corridor of rainforest. He recorded data on every large-bodied animal, plant, and sign of human impact along the way. Members of the public followed Fay’s daily exploits via satellite maps, digital images, and journal postings on the National Geographic website. In 2004, from the cockpit of a Cessna plane equipped with digital and video cameras, Fay expanded his approach to conservation. The 60,000-mile Megaflyover expedition enabled him to assess the state of wild lands across the whole of Africa. He shot photos and footage of sand dunes and floodplains, farms and roads for the WCS Human Footprint project, which measured the degree of human influence on Earth’s land surfaces.

“Dr. Fay has devoted his career to conservation,” said Erik Lindbergh, Chairman of the Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation. “His use of technology to collect information about the environment so that people around the world can learn about the importance of sustainability and become inspired to take action is just the kind of life-long dedication the Foundation seeks to honor with our Lindbergh Award.”

Fay made his first journey to Africa in 1978 with the Peace Corps, working as a botanist in national parks of Tunisia and savannas of the Central African Republic. In the 1990s, he helped to create and manage Dzanga-Sangha National Park in Central African Republic and Nouabale-Ndoki National Park in Republic of Congo. Both of these reserves contain great numbers of forest elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, and other wild species.

“Mike Fay has clearly led the way for the conservation community in his innovative use of available technology for the purpose of identifying threats to Earth’s natural wonders and galvanizing public support to save these treasures,” said Dr. James Deutsch, director of the WCS Africa Program.

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