Massachusetts Dept of Conservation and recreation rules

[bburnett15]

Has Anyone from Mass. looked into this by any chance? I have been flying a drone in a nice DCR park and found out today (by accident) that i might need a permit.
i was curious about flying at one, potentially sensitive area, so i googled to see if there were rules addressing this location. I did not find any but i found one guy who offers some free info who said state regulations prohibit drone use in ALL DCR properties except in the case of an emergency . I looked up the regulation and it says that about MANNED aircraft, not sUAS.
is there anyone out there who might be able to shed light on this?
TIA

 

[Greenflash]

You can fly over the DCR parks but not take off or land without a special permit. Many of the DCR parks are under Logan Airport’s “class B” airspace and need a LAANCE clearance to fly.

 

[bburnett15]

Thats what i saw somebody post when i went searching, but when i looked it up in CMR 302, Chapter 12
it doesnt say anything regarding sUAS, only manned aircraft and kite-powered (like using those parasails on a surfboard).
it does say (in not so few words) that you need a special use permit for boom boxes but I still hear them competing with each other in the summer time at DCR beaches.

 

[Greenflash]

 

[bburnett15]

View attachment 122844

Thanks!

 

[Saladshooter]

That would still seem to only apply to someone using video for profit..... otherwise all cellphone photography would need a permit as well?.... not well defined. I am one state over in Connecticut and our state parks explicitly make drones against the rules.

 

[spsphotos]

View attachment 122844

Note that is says "Professional". Does not apply to recreational photography.

 

[spsphotos]

I think the safest bet is to always assume that you need a permit on ANY state land or park.

 

[Saladshooter]

UAVcoach.com reports drones as illegal in Mass State Parks.... if you go to the statute they are drawing from, it does not explicitly spell out drones as illegal but does say airplane, helicopter and similar appratus.

​

From UAVcoach:

State Drone Laws in Massachusetts​

These are drone laws that apply to the entire state of Massachusetts, and were created by the Massachusetts General Court.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts General Court there is currently one state law in place concerning the operations of drones in Massachusetts.

302 CMR 12.00: Parks and Recreation Rules // 2016

This law prohibits:

• Taking-off or landing a drone within DCR properties unless it is an emergency.
• Operating a drone over any land or waterways managed by the DCR.

 

[bburnett15]

I dont know what qualifications “UAV Coach” has, but he is incorrect. Those are not prohibited but prohibited without a special use permit - see Greenflash’s responseto my original post.
“Drone” is a specific, commonly used term. If they want to prohibit drones they could easily say so.

 

[Saladshooter]

I dont know what qualifications “UAV Coach” has, but he is incorrect. Those are not prohibited but prohibited without a special use permit - see Greenflash’s responseto my original post.
“Drone” is a specific, commonly used term. If they want to prohibit drones they could easily say so.

I agree... as I mentioned, here in CT it is explicitly spelled out. I was just digging about and found both the info and the statute in question. It does leave a little room for interpretation should a ranger want to ruin your day but I don't think there is anything there that intentionally rules out drone flight.

 

[bburnett15]

I agree... as I mentioned, here in CT it is explicitly spelled out. I was just digging about and found both the info and the statute in question. It does leave a little room for interpretation should a ranger want to ruin your day but I don't think there is anything there that intentionally rules out drone flight.

Sorry- i misunderstood. thanks for the info. If i get any kind if definitive answer from them I’ll post it.

 

[ackdrone]

I asked our Massachusetts DCR supervisor about UAS operation in state forests, as they are managed by MA DCR.
He said the law had not caught up with the proliferation of UAS and deferred to FAA regulations on operations.
Further one needs to apply for a permit to do comercial filming and photography in a state forest, such as weddings, which are very big on Nantucket.

 

[bburnett15]

I asked our Massachusetts DCR supervisor about UAS operation in state forests, as they are managed by MA DCR.
He said the law had not caught up with the proliferation of UAS and deferred to FAA regulations on operations.
Further one needs to apply for a permit to do comercial filming and photography in a state forest, such as weddings, which are very big on Nantucket.

this makes sense, thank you!

 

[Deleted member 92101]

Has Anyone from Mass. looked into this by any chance? I have been flying a drone in a nice DCR park and found out today (by accident) that i might need a permit.
i was curious about flying at one, potentially sensitive area, so i googled to see if there were rules addressing this location. I did not find any but i found one guy who offers some free info who said state regulations prohibit drone use in ALL DCR properties except in the case of an emergency . I looked up the regulation and it says that about MANNED aircraft, not sUAS.
is there anyone out there who might be able to shed light on this?
TIA

Massachusetts – State Drone Law

statedronelaw.com

 

[ackdrone]

Massachusetts – State Drone Law

statedronelaw.com

I spoke with the Cape and Islands supervisor on this issue specifically(see above)I manage the Nantucket Disc Golf course on DCR property in the state forest and his answer was as written above. I'm sure there will be a review before long to tighten the laws and make them more UAV/UAS specific fairly soon. I always fly withe idea there is someone around just to be safe