Your opinions of this land trust drone policy

[bdouglasj]

I wanted to put out to anyone on here who might be legally inclined to see what you think about this particular Northern California's Land Trusts policy:

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx LAND TRUST STEWARDSHIP POLICY REGARDING USE OF DRONES ON LAND TRUST PROPERTY


Persons flying drones and other unmanned aircraft on or above properties owned and/or managed by the xxxxxxxxxx Land Trust must have prior written consent from the xxxxxxxxxxx Land Trust. The written permission must be on the person at all times while operating the aircraft.


Out of safety concerns for guests, employees, and association property, as well as concerns for individual privacy, the xxxxxxxxxxx Land Trust prohibits the operation or use of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, by the general public – including recreational users and hobbyists – without the prior written authorization from the Truckee Donner Land Trust. This prohibition includes drones used for filming or videotaping, as well as any drone use by media or journalists operating above or within xxxxxxxxxx Land Trust property boundaries. This includes lands on which a conservation easeemnt is held by the xxxxxxxxxxx Land Trust. This prohibition on drone operations or use extends to any drones launched or operated from xxxxxxxxx Land Trust property, as well as drones launched from private property outside of xxxxxxxxxx Land Trust property. Any authorized operation of aerial drones may be governed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules and regulations, local law enforcement, and / or U.S. Forest Service, as well as those policies separately established by the xxxxxxxxxxxxx Land Trust, which may include certification, training, insurance coverage, indemnification requirements, and waivers or releases of liability. Any violation of this rule may involve prosecution under applicable laws and may subject violators to any damages, including, but not limited to, damages for violations of privacy and/or physical or personal injuries or property damage, as well as regulatory fines and legal fees.


To request permission, please contact the Land Trust at (xxxxxxxxxxxx)

 

[MavicAir2Marc]

The FAA governs the airspace, all they can do is keep you from taking off, landing, or operating from their land. If you are outside their property, they have no control whether or not you can overfly the land. The FAA regulates airspace and flight restrictions.

 

[DoomMeister]

^^^^^the correct answer^^^^^

 

[BobaFut]

"This prohibition on drone operations or use extends to any drones launched or operated from xxxxxxxxx Land Trust property, as well as drones launched from private property outside of xxxxxxxxxx Land Trust property."

My first thought was that they should at least let a lawyer glance at their policies, but then I remembered that a lawyer probably did and just doesn't know or care enough to make the policy align with the actual law. But really this is just about preemptively bullying people who might not know better.

 

[BigAl07]

That's whole lot of INCORRECT that someone probably paid good money for.

 

[retiredNH]

"This prohibition on drone operations or use extends to any drones launched or operated from xxxxxxxxx Land Trust property, as well as drones launched from private property outside of xxxxxxxxxx Land Trust property."

My first thought was that they should at least let a lawyer glance at their policies, but then I remembered that a lawyer probably did and just doesn't know or care enough to make the policy align with the actual law. But really this is just about preemptively bullying people who might not know better.

Exactly. Before I retired, I negotiated biomedical research and clinical trial agreements for a branch of the Federal Government. I'm not trained as an attorney, but I know biomedical research issues, and used to run circles around the attorneys our collaborators (mostly drug companies) used. They knew the basics of law, but nothing about research.

Same thing applies to these bone-headed policies. The attorneys writing them know the basics of law, but nothing about drones or drone flying.

Where does that leave us drone pilots? Depends on our appetite for confrontation. I'm fortunate to live in an area with no restrictions other than FAA. I don't envy those in restrictive areas, like many big cities.

 

[Vic Moss]

Oooo, I wish I lived closer. That's a slam dunk if they ever cite someone for flying over the property if they were off site.

 

[DoomMeister]

Somehow I knew Vic and BigAl would chime in on this one! I just don’t understand where groups like this Land Trust get the notion that they control the airspace over them. When legal BVLOS flights become more common entities such as these will be pulling their proverbial hair out.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I wonder what the 'bug bear' is with Northern California's Land Trusts and drone flight ?
Are the land trusts there for future generations to enjoy / have like National Trust in the UK, and in the publics interest ?

National Trust UK tried this (and still try bluffing) for pilots there.
Theirs was a commercial interest in filming / photographing I believe, not wanting nice aerial images in the commercial domain without them being in on the action . . . though they always cite public safety as their concern.

But, if flying to FAA (or CAA) drone rules, then it really is a bluff regarding 'operating' the drone from outside the area concerned.

Land Trusts lends itself to huge tracts of land though, so in reality stopping flights where a pilot is on the site does make longer range flight BVLOS impossible in such cases.

 

[dronerdave]

I wonder what the 'bug bear' is with Northern California's Land Trusts and drone flight ?
Are the land trusts there for future generations to enjoy / have like National Trust in the UK, and in the publics interest ?

National Trust UK tried this (and still try bluffing) for pilots there.
Theirs was a commercial interest in filming / photographing I believe, not wanting nice aerial images in the commercial domain without them being in on the action . . . though they always cite public safety as their concern.

But, if flying to FAA (or CAA) drone rules, then it really is a bluff regarding 'operating' the drone from outside the area concerned.

Land Trusts lends itself to huge tracts of land though, so in reality stopping flights where a pilot is on the site does make longer range flight BVLOS impossible in such cases.

I'm not sure. I know of a few farmers who donated some of their lands to these type trusts and the intent from what I've been told it's to keep the land as natural as possible without human interference. More like a nature preserve that is closed to the public. But I could be wrong so I'm going out on a limb if in fact I was told a bunch of malarkey. It could be each trust might be different. The one guy said it also had to do with taxes as well getting squaters off his other properties along a river bottom. Nothing about drone flying over though.

 

[Starz]

get the notion

They get the notion from,
Let’s just write it up like we want and see how many folks we can fool!

 

[dart106]

Interesting, since they can’t regulate fixed or rotary wing aircraft from flying in the airspace over the land trust. They don’t own the airspace.

 

[DougMcC]

Perhaps the words prohibiting “ filming and videotaping” reveal the lack of knowledge of the author or the use of “text copy” from an older document?

 

[theDRONEranger]

In the US of A the FAA is sole authority, of course! IN THE FUTURE: That loud popping noise you hear may very well be the sound of heads being pulled out of their butts.

 

[spsphotos]

Anyone up on writing and informing them of their misconceptions?

 

[offtheback]

I wanted to put out to anyone on here who might be legally inclined to see what you think about this particular Northern California's Land Trusts policy:

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx LAND TRUST STEWARDSHIP POLICY REGARDING USE OF DRONES ON LAND TRUST PROPERTY


Persons flying drones and other unmanned aircraft on or above properties owned and/or managed by the xxxxxxxxxx Land Trust must have prior written consent from the xxxxxxxxxxx Land Trust. The written permission must be on the person at all times while operating the aircraft.


Out of safety concerns for guests, employees, and association property, as well as concerns for individual privacy, the xxxxxxxxxxx Land Trust prohibits the operation or use of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, by the general public – including recreational users and hobbyists – without the prior written authorization from the Truckee Donner Land Trust. This prohibition includes drones used for filming or videotaping, as well as any drone use by media or journalists operating above or within xxxxxxxxxx Land Trust property boundaries. This includes lands on which a conservation easeemnt is held by the xxxxxxxxxxx Land Trust. This prohibition on drone operations or use extends to any drones launched or operated from xxxxxxxxx Land Trust property, as well as drones launched from private property outside of xxxxxxxxxx Land Trust property. Any authorized operation of aerial drones may be governed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules and regulations, local law enforcement, and / or U.S. Forest Service, as well as those policies separately established by the xxxxxxxxxxxxx Land Trust, which may include certification, training, insurance coverage, indemnification requirements, and waivers or releases of liability. Any violation of this rule may involve prosecution under applicable laws and may subject violators to any damages, including, but not limited to, damages for violations of privacy and/or physical or personal injuries or property damage, as well as regulatory fines and legal fees.


To request permission, please contact the Land Trust at (xxxxxxxxxxxx)

The land trust threw some duty at the wall hoping some would stick

 

[Starz]

Anyone up on writing and informing them of their misconceptions?

Waste of time.

 

[Vic Moss]

Waste of time.

Not necessarily. I've had good luck getting organizations to change their language. I've even had luck (with a little help from the FAA) getting some G and E airports to change the language on thier websites.

It's all in the approach.

 

[AZDave]

Organizations like that land trust have the right to claim anything they want, and if they don't want people flying drones over their property they can claim the right to prohibit it. That doesn't make them legally correct and anyone could challenge it, but if they think it would deter someone they really don't have much to lose by trying. Situations like that happen all of the time. At the very least it points out that they don't want you there.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

I have said this before. They can and will have you arrested. You will have to fight them in court. How deep are your pockets? These fights can get very expensive for your the average guy or girl. Best to have your funding in place before hand as they already have lawyers on the payroll and it don't cost them a red cent to fight you in court win or lose.