Flying over wilderness areas

[GroovyGeek]

Will be heading out to AZ and NM in a few weeks, to do some drone and camera photography around hoodoos and bentonite. There are a couple of areas that look very colorful/interesting on Google Earth, that are designated wilderness. I clearly cannot take off/land from within the wilderness, but taking off from outside the wilderness is very feasible.

Previously my understanding of the law was that BLM controls the land and FAA the air, so taking off from outside the wilderness but flying over it is completely legal. However, a few sources suggest that in some instances the BLM has considered controlling the drone while it is over the wilderness area as "operating from" the area, even if you are physically outside the boundary.

Can anyone point me to authoritative discussions on the subject. To be clear, I have no plans to be an a-hole. The flights will be relatively high altitude, no animals will be harassed, ever. There is no private property in the vicinity, and I will stay away from all tribal land.

UPDATE: found this definitive document

https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/State-Local-Regulation-of-Unmanned-Aircraft-Systems-Fact-Sheet.pdf

Thus, while the “navigable airspace” extends to the ground, that does not mean that States are powerless to regulate UAS operations if they are not acting to regulate aviation safety or airspace efficiency. It is well established in the context of manned aircraft that Federal law does not preempt altogether any state regulation purporting to reach into the navigable air space; the same is true with respect to UAS.

And further down

If a law seeks to advance non-safety or efficiency objectives but affects where UAS may operate in the air, the question of whether the law is preempted will depend primarily on whether the law negatively impacts safety and on how much of an impact the law has on the ability of UAS to use or traverse the airspace.

The most relevant section is at the very end

Laws aimed at objectives other than aviation safety or airspace efficiency that do not impair the reasonable use by UAS of the airspace

Critically

Such laws could include those concerning [snip] protection of wildlife; using UAS for hunting or fishing, or to interfere with or harass an individual who is hunting or fishing; and law enforcement operations.

So it seems that this loophole is mostly closed as of 2023, unless you are willing to test the legality of "could", "may", etc. In any case the spirit of the law seems clear.

 

[mavic3usa]

IANAL but it's just the FAA trying to own the entire NAS but looking the other way when drone pilots are on the receiving end of the shaft by other parts of the government. Wait until you get there to see, you will be fine. BLM lands are public lands, it's belongs to the People not the government. As long as you don't try to build a house there and move in, you won't have any problems especially in the AZ.

 

[Cafguy]

so taking off from outside the wilderness but flying over it is completely legal.

NO!
The rule states you cannot fly a drone into a National park so standing on one side and flying in is not legal and would probably get you into more trouble. flying a drone in a national park is illegal no matter where you are standing.
If there are protected animals in the area you cannot fly high enough to legally fly-over in most cases. Best to check with the park area you are planning to film at.

 

[AlanL]

FAA rules allow aircraft to fly over wilderness areas and wildlife refuges with a flight floor of 2000'. Since you can't fly at that altitude with your UAS any incursion at 400' above the ground or lower is not a legal flight. This is not the same as flying over National Park land.

Edit: These rules are not UAS specific rules and are part of FAA rules for all aircraft. These areas are always marked out on the FAA Sector maps so you should check the maps for specific places you want to fly over as there are variances.

 

[FletcherAero]

generally in these areas in NM taking off from outside the area is irrelevant because you will be BVLOS before you reach the features you want to film anyway

 

[Mt-Ed]

Yet......
there is a public airstrip within the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex
: the Schafer Meadows Airstrip (8U2), located in the Great Bear Wilderness area. It is the last active airstrip in a designated wilderness area in Montana

and this is WITHIN a wilderness area......guess if you have enough money, anything's possible?

 

[Dogpilot]

Wilderness areas are rally the big point of confusion. The actual language is "requested." It is not hard and fast. Excerpt from AIM:

b. Pilots are requested to maintain a minimum altitude of 2,000 feet above the surface of the following: National Parks, Monuments, Seashores, Lakeshores, Recreation Areas and Scenic Riverways administered by the National Park Service, National Wildlife Refuges, Big Game Refuges, Game Ranges and Wildlife Ranges administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Wilderness and Primitive areas administered by the U.S. Forest Service.

For example in Arizona, we have a wilderness area that covers the entire Roosevelt Lake area. This is a lake we frequently use for seaplane use. Oh, kind of a conundrum there, but the rule is not a rule, but a request. Then if you look to National Parks, we can fly over them, which I do virtually every time I take off or land at Flagstaff (Walnut Canyon National Monument). Flying over them is allowed. There is also even an exemption with the Grand Canyon, which is if you are taking off or landing. Friend of mine has his own private strip there, and it pre-dates the rules, so we can fly there. BTW, the Grand Canyon Special Flight Rules were actually advisory for the longest time, since Congress failed to ratify them for inclusion in the CFR's. Until they make it to the Code of Federal Regulations, not actually law.

So yes you can fly over them, you just cannot take off or land in them.