The National Park Service is warning potential
amateur pilots that drone aircraft are "prohibited within park
boundaries" of Yosemite National Park.
The park service is referring to small "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles," like the DJI Phantom.
Officials say, in recent years, the park has experienced an increase in
visitors using drones inside the park to film climbers and views above
the treetops in the national park.
An uptick in this kind activity isn't
surprising. Recently, the price and accessibility of small, "personal"
drone aircraft has come way down. Amateurs and hobbyists can outfit the
devices with small cameras, such as GoPros, getting high definition
aerial photographs for around $1,000.
"Drones can be extremely noisy," wrote the Park Service, "and can impact the natural soundscape."
The service referred to a section of the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR 2.17,
which reads, “delivering or retrieving a person or object by parachute,
helicopter, or other airborne means, except in emergencies involving
public safety or serious property loss, or pursuant to the terms and
conditions of a permit” is illegal.
The law exempts "official business of the Federal government" and emergency rescues. Indeed, actual military drones have been deployed to help with fire fighting as recently as last year.
Despite the passage in the CFR the
service cites, federal law has been particularly unclear on the use of
drones by citizens. The Federal Aviation Administration has not yet
drafted full regulations for the domestic use of drones and is not
expected to until the fall of 2015. And this year, a federal judge ruled that the FAA doesn't even have the authority regulate hobbist aircraft.
While the regulation works out, enjoy some of the great shots drone have taken of America's most iconic national park.
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http://www.nps.gov