Peyton May

On-call UAV Pilot

Peyton joined the CLERC family in April 2022, serving as a CLERC Certified Drone Pilot. He balances this part-time role with his full-time position as a Vegetation Program Manager for a California utility company, a role he continues to hold while working for CLERC on his days off. Peyton is equipped with an FAA 107 Drone License, is a certified Gunsmith, and is currently pursuing his ISA Arboriculture recertification.

With a career in the environmental field that began in 2007, Peyton has accumulated 12 years of experience in tree work, fire safety, and prevention, as well as project planning, gained from his tenure at three major California electrical utility companies. In addition, Peyton has accumulated a combined 4 years of experience as an FAA 107 Drone Operator. He spent two years operating his own drone services company in Hawaii and continued his passion upon returning to Lake County. Peyton possesses a profound understanding of state and federal Utility Vegetation requirements, Arboriculture practices, and FAA commercial Drone (SUAS/UAV) regulations.

A native of Lake County, Peyton grew up in Clearlake and holds a deep appreciation for the significance of forest health in wildfire prevention, driven by personal experiences living there. During his childhood, he devoted much of his time to exploring Lake County's oak forests and watersheds alongside his two brothers. During his teenage years, he found enjoyment in mountain boarding down dirt roads and hiking trails around Cobb Mountain and the Cache Creek wilderness. His passion for local exploration continued to flourish, and by his 20s, Peyton was venturing deeper into the untouched wilderness of Lake County.

A few of his favorite things: multi-day backpacking trips into the Cache Creek wilderness, rafting rapids, cave and mine exploration, and rappelling down Mt. Konocti and taking his family on hikes and cooling off in local swimming holes,