You are here

Drone Use Approved At Cape Cod National Seashore For Mapping

Share
Kayakers in Nauset Marsh, Cape Cod National Seashore/NPS

USGS researchers have been approved to use a drone to map coastal landscape at Cape Cod National Seashore, including Nauset Marsh/NPS

A permit has been approved to allow the use of a drone at Cape Cod National Seashore by researchers working to map a variety of coastal landscapes.

Cape Cod Superintendent George Price said the flights over the Nauset Marsch and Coast Guard Beach area will be conducted between February 29 and March 20 as part of a research project with the United States Geological Survey.

The use of drones in national park units has been strictly controlled by policy since June 2014. Some units of the park system experienced a number of problems where drone pilots harassed wildlife, interfered with visitor experiences, and interfered with aircraft attacking wildfires in Western states, forcing the grounding of the craft for safety reasons. At Cape Cod National Seashore, park staff has documented instances where people using drones harassed grey seals off Coast Guard Beach.

The Park Service does allow drone use if the project supports the mission of the park unit. Permits in those instances have to be approved by the park superintendent, the regional director, and the associate director for visitor and resource protection in Washington, D.C.

The USGS staff from the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center developed the permit application for this project to evaluate the feasibility, cost, and data quality for high resolution mapping of a variety of coastal landscapes (beaches, dunes, bluffs, overwash channels, back-barrier marshes) using equipment mounted on a drone. Their project is scheduled to avoid sensitive endangered or listed species, provides for safeguards, and utilizes equipment that has reduced noise technology to limit impacts to humans and wildlife.

Comments

 What about race point ? 2017 July and August?


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.