Low flying small aircrafts on the California coast are disturbing fragile bird populations, including the Murres that nest on Devil’s Slide Rock near Half Moon Bay. The Seabird Protection Network – a program of NOAA’s Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary – has undertaken extensive outreach efforts to educate California pilots on the impact of low flying (below 1000 feet) on bird breeding sites, sending out informational pamphlets and speaking at events. They have also begun to design a behavioral intervention, employing commitments and social norming.

Root Solutions partnered with the Seabird Protection Network to determine whether a commitments campaign would successfully solve their problem. We conducted a determinants analysis with California pilots from multiple airports to understand the barriers to them adjusting their altitude along the coast in unlegislated areas. We recommended interventions and communication strategies to overcome the barriers and benefits we uncovered.