Flying in National areas

[Steve Reed]

Does anyone have a handle on the legalities of flying in the different national areas? I know that National Parks are forbidden but I live in the West and there are several other designations. National Recreation, National Monument, National Forrest and maybe even more but these are the ones that spring to mind. Official government sites are so convoluted and full of double speak that they never really address the issue. Do you know the rules? Any thoughts or ideas of where to officially get the real word?

 

[FL1H1]

Does anyone have a handle on the legalities of flying in the different national areas? I know that National Parks are forbidden but I live in the West and there are several other designations. National Recreation, National Monument, National Forrest and maybe even more but these are the ones that spring to mind. Official government sites are so convoluted and full of double speak that they never really address the issue. Do you know the rules? Any thoughts or ideas of where to officially get the real word?

I'm in the UK but our laws are evidently being developed to comply with yours. We have the National Trust, this looks after areas of outstanding natural beauty, much like National Parks, they also look after historic palaces and their estates . Then we have the forestry commission, nature reserves, national heritage for a lot of historic sites and buildings, and then we have these old palatial homes and castles that are still privately owned but to fund them, most are open to the public like Castle Ashby and Chatsworth. Forestry officially ban drones but aren't exactly policed, National Heritage ban them but looking after monuments, castles can only stop people taking off, landing and flying them from their land, they have no control beyond that. None of these organisations can arrest us for filming so long as we stay within the drone code, so 150ft above and from buildings, maintaining VLS, and I would imagine you're in a similar position.

 

[sar104]

In general, National Forests have no restrictions on UAVs. All the other types that you mention are administered by the National Park Service, and they currently prohibit UAV operations from just about all NPS-administered lands. If you search for either "Laws and policies" or the "Superintendent's Compendium" on the website for any of those NPS locations you will find the site-specific rules.

 

[2nckayakers]

Ditto what Sar104 said, but to add to it, if you are on a lake that is managed by the Corps of Engineers (USACE) then you also need to look at the policy for each specific place because the rules vary there. Some are strictly prohibited, but I have found several that if you call and ask permission and tell them what you are doing, they will sometimes give you permission. I have had it happen twice on lakes that I wanted to film from and it took me about a week and a couple of phone calls and a few emails but they finally gave me permission in writting. That is the important part too is don't call and take the word of whoever you talk to, ask them to give you permission in writting.

 

[Mavic Ray]

You have to look on the National Forest Website. There are a lot of areas that are considered National Forest but are Congressionally Designated Wilderness areas and flying is prohibited in these areas. Two examples of this in Washington state are Mount Baker and the Alpine Wilderness area near Leavenworth. Here is the National Forest website on Drone regulations: Tips for Responsible Hobby or Recreational Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or "Drones" on National Forest Systems Lands | US Forest Service

 

[sar104]

You have to look on the National Forest Website. There are a lot of areas that are considered National Forest but are Congressionally Designated Wilderness areas and flying is prohibited in these areas. Two examples of this in Washington state are Mount Baker and the Alpine Wilderness area near Leavenworth. Here is the National Forest website on Drone regulations: Tips for Responsible Hobby or Recreational Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or "Drones" on National Forest Systems Lands | US Forest Service

Good point - I forgot to mention designated wilderness.

 

[dronerdave]

I'm curious about National Monuments like Mojave or Devils Post Pile. I know they have restricted flight in obvious places like The Statue Of Liberty and Mt Rushmore but wonder about the more remote places, especially the Mojave Road. I did that trail a few years back and it was rare to even see another vehicle all day long. I'd would of loved to grab some aerial shots.

 

[sar104]

I'm curious about National Monuments like Mojave or Devils Post Pile. I know they have restricted flight in obvious places like The Statue Of Liberty and Mt Rushmore but wonder about the more remote places, especially the Mojave Road. I did that trail a few years back and it was rare to even see another vehicle all day long. I'd would of loved to grab some aerial shots.

UAVs are not permitted anywhere on NPS land - that includes all National Monuments.

 

[Scoobywrx05]

As said National Forest is ok besides in wilderness areas but if you plan doing anything commercially you need to get a permit through them to do so. Rules on acoe is 500 yards away from any of their places including rest areas,dams,locks and anything else they control or own,especially anything they consider a federal infrastructure. You can look up rule 327.4 under the acoe to see the ruling/rules.

 

[dronerdave]

UAVs are not permitted anywhere on NPS land - that includes all National Monuments.

Well the deal is that National Monuments are regulated by different agencies. Some are ran by the NPS but others are regulated by BLM, National Forest service or even the US fish and wildlife service. You can hunt, off road, or mine on some of the monument lands, so I wonder if it's a case by case issue dealing with UAS operation? I was hoping it's similar to Ca state parks where they allow drones at certain parks and SRA's.

 

[Steve Reed]

See, looking at all these responses there are some very black and white areas but also a lot of gray out there.

 

[sar104]

Well the deal is that National Monuments are regulated by different agencies. Some are ran by the NPS but others are regulated by BLM, National Forest service or even the US fish and wildlife service. You can hunt, off road, or mine on some of the monument lands, so I wonder if it's a case by case issue dealing with UAS operation? I was hoping it's similar to Ca state parks where they allow drones at certain parks and SRA's.

Good catch - I had never noticed that there are non-NPS National Monuments. Of the 129, 88 are NPS, 27 are BLM, 12 are USFS and 8 are FWS. One (Hanford Reach) is run by my personal favorite, DOE. BLM and USFS National Monuments do not appear to have blanket bans on UAV operations.