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Flying in a national forest

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In general, National Forests are great places to fly a drone :) You should watch out for designated Wilderness Areas in national forests, and fly under the guidelines and rules promulgated by the FAA.

See the National Forest Services website for more info:
Tips for Responsible Hobby or Recreational Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or "Drones" on National Forest Systems Lands | US Forest Service

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Well I asked the question and got the answer I didn't want. No drones in this national forest. I thought surely they wouldn't have a problem. Don't go to Noxubee national forest to fly. Apparently we aren't welcome.


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Well I asked the question and got the answer I didn't want. No drones in this national forest. I thought surely they wouldn't have a problem. Don't go to Noxubee national forest to fly. Apparently we aren't welcome.


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Isn't Noxubee a National Wildlife Refuge? I don't have a problem with a Wildlife Refuge or a Wilderness Area being off limits for sUAS. I am fortunate to be in an area where there is a large amount of both Forest Service and BLM lands where I can fly, so i guess easy for me to say.
 
I sure as heck hope you can fly in a National Forest..... as I am surrounded by millions of acres of it !!
 
You can fly in a National Forest within the guidelines in the link above. I do alot of flying in National Forest...
 
In general, National Forests are great places to fly a drone :) You should watch out for designated Wilderness Areas in national forests, and fly under the guidelines and rules promulgated by the FAA.

See the National Forest Services website for more info:
Tips for Responsible Hobby or Recreational Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or "Drones" on National Forest Systems Lands | US Forest Service

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I'm confused. The link above communicates pretty much you can do it, but don't be an idiot. My local park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, states different:

Legislation: As of June 20, 2014, National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis signed a policy memorandum that directs superintendents nationwide to prohibit launching, landing, or operating unmanned aircraft on lands and waters administered by the National Park Service. To:

Am I confusing National Park and National Forest?
 
I'm confused. The link above communicates pretty much you can do it, but don't be an idiot. My local park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, states different:

Legislation: As of June 20, 2014, National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis signed a policy memorandum that directs superintendents nationwide to prohibit launching, landing, or operating unmanned aircraft on lands and waters administered by the National Park Service. To:

Am I confusing National Park and National Forest?

I think that is precisely the difference. National park... no go. National forest... no problem.
National wildlife refuge absolutely no!


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national park and a national forest aren't the same thing by any measure.

I believe that's the mixup
 
I don't live there and don't have the money to go there but does anyone know about Hawaii I know Obama made a giant swath of the ocean there a national park or something like that saw it on the news.

Is all that a no go? Just curious.

Also since the topic is open a wildlife refuge is nogo but what about aquatic refuges? Anyone know? Yah Yah your not diving (hopefully) but the area its in is designated refuge. Just curious there is a lot of it where I live along with the florida keys where I have a condo.
 
Yes, there is BIG difference between a National Forest, a National Park, a National Monument, National Recreation Area, and a National Wildlife Refuge. Each one of those will have different rules, and it is to know which type of public land is being talked about. In addition while National Parks have a blanket "no drone policy", National Forest land has a open drone policy, unless the are particular restrictions on that N.F. land (Wilderness Area, Wilderness Study Area, National Park on N.F land, National monument on N.F. land etc.)

The link I provided is from the Forest Service, and only corresponds to National Forest lands. And it is important to also realize that some National Forest lands are managed differently, and the link I provided is the general rule. "Wilderness Areas" or "Wilderness Study Areas" have different rules than the link I provided, even thought they may be in National Forest lands (thereare numerous WA's or WSA's on BLM land as well.)

I live in Utah, where there is a significant amount of Federal Land - divided into 2 land types - Forest Service lands and BLM (Bureau of Land Managment) lands. However, those 2 categories may be fall into different subcategories, each with their own management agency, and generally heightened restrictions.

In addition, in Utah, there are also State owned lands, and then privately owned lands.

It definitely gets complicated.

Utah is home to 5 National Parks (some on Forest Service land and some on BLM Land, including Zion N.P., Arches N.P., Canyonlands N.P., Bryce Canyon N.P. and Capitol Reef N.P.), several more National Monuments (The Bears Ear National Monument was created by Obama the last week of office and is bigger than all 5 National Parks @ 1.3 million acres and is on both BLM and F.S. land).

The point of all of this is that the public land is very complicated (whether national or state), and that the best idea is to Google each individual area where you want to fly to find out that area's particular rules :)




I'm confused. The link above communicates pretty much you can do it, but don't be an idiot. My local park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, states different:

Legislation: As of June 20, 2014, National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis signed a policy memorandum that directs superintendents nationwide to prohibit launching, landing, or operating unmanned aircraft on lands and waters administered by the National Park Service. To:

Am I confusing National Park and National Forest?
 
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I don't live there and don't have the money to go there but does anyone know about Hawaii I know Obama made a giant swath of the ocean there a national park or something like that saw it on the news.

Is all that a no go? Just curious.

Also since the topic is open a wildlife refuge is nogo but what about aquatic refuges? Anyone know? Yah Yah your not diving (hopefully) but the area its in is designated refuge. Just curious there is a lot of it where I live along with the florida keys where I have a condo.

I believe Obama created a National Monument in Hawaii similar to the Bears Ears National Monument he created in Utah (1.3 Million acres). The national monument in Utah is still developing its "rules" (and there is an effort to get Trump to reverse or to reduce in size the monument as well) but for now, I believe drones are ok as a general rule in a national monument, unlike in a national park, however I would guess that any given specific national monument may have no-fly areas.

And it should be clarified that just because an activity is permitted, it doesn't mean there aren't rules regarding that activity. For example, Mountain biking is permited in National Forest areas, but harrassing wildlife with a bike will get you in big trouble. The same idea would apply with drones.
 
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Yes, there is BIG difference between a National Forest, a National Park, a National Monument, National Recreation Area, and a National Wildlife Refuge. Each one of those will have different rules, and it is to know which type of public land is being talked about. In addition while National Parks have a blanket "no drone policy", National Forest land has a open drone policy, unless the are particular restrictions on that N.F. land (Wilderness Area, Wilderness Study Area, National Park on N.F land, National monument on N.F. land etc.)

The link I provided is from the Forest Service, and only corresponds to National Forest lands. And it is important to also realize that some National Forest lands are managed differently, and the link I provided is the general rule. "Wilderness Areas" or "Wilderness Study Areas" have different rules than the link I provided, even thought they may be in National Forest lands (thereare numerous WA's or WSA's on BLM land as well.)

I live in Utah, where there is a significant amount of Federal Land - divided into 2 land types - Forest Service lands and BLM (Bureau of Land Managment) lands. However, those 2 categories may be fall into different subcategories, each with their own management agency, and generally heightened restrictions.

In addition, in Utah, there are also State owned lands, and then privately owned lands.

It definitely gets complicated.

Utah is home to 5 National Parks (some on Forest Service land and some on BLM Land, including Zion N.P., Arches N.P., Canyonlands N.P., Bryce Canyon N.P. and Capitol Reef N.P.), several more National Monuments (The Bears Ear National Monument was created by Obama the last week of office and is bigger than all 5 National Parks @ 1.3 million acres and is on both BLM and F.S. land).

The point of all of this is that the public land is very complicated (whether national or state), and that the best idea is to Google each individual area where you want to fly to find out that area's particular rules :)

thanks so much. I'm feeling so restricted to where I can fly and my backyard is becoming very boring.
 
thanks so much. I'm feeling so restricted to where I can fly and my backyard is becoming very boring.

Maybe you should move to Utah? or Nevada? :)
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Actually, I need to apologize.

I take for granted all the public land living in Utah, and don't comprehend what it would be like living in those States with little public land. Or in an area without mountains in my backyard that tower 6,500ft above the valley floor (makes the 1,500 ft altitude increase limitation a problem). I grew up playing in National Forests, and haven't spent much time back East, so I forget that the West is so different. Looking at that map, it's hard for me to comprehend.

Utah has its own challenges with so much federal land. Large families and so little private land means that we are dead last in per pupil spending in public education even though we are among the highest tax rates in the country (for education).

And don't get me started on a discussion about national versus state control of the public land ;)

Hope you can find some interesting, fun, and beautiful places to fly near you.

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