This drone pilot claimed not to know his hobby was illegal inside Golden Gate National Recreation Area/Kurt Repanshek
How can someone spend anywhere from $500 to $3,000 for a drone, drive to the Marin Headlands portion of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, walk several hundred yards from the parking lot along with dozens of other visitors, commence to flying his drone on the trail to the Point Bonita Lighthouse, and claim not to know he was in a national park?
Ignornace is bliss? Nah, that's too easy.
The guy I ran into the other weekend knew exactly where he was -- he was standing with a gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge dominating the horizon -- and more than likely knew that flying a drone in the NRA is illegal. Drones have been a problem at Golden Gate NRA in recent years -- several years ago a drone nearly collided with several visitors at Alcatraz Island -- and more recently there have been issues with them at Yellowstone National Park, where one pilot crashed his into iconic Grand Prismatic Spring, and at Yosemite National Park. So great a problem have these remote control aircraft become that the National Park Service last June ordered that drones be prohibited in all units of the park system.
"Isn't flying drones in a national park illegal?" I asked him.
"Is it?" he answered.
"Yeah, I think so," said I.
"Is this a park?" he said with a smirk, before turning back to his controls.
He was drawing a crowd, and it's fortunate he didn't crash his drone into them, or onto the cliffside below him. Perhaps if there were rangers about they might have cited him or convinced him to keep his drone in his car, but there weren't, and the few volunteers working the crowds were more absorbed with opening the tunnel to the Point Bonita Lighthouse than directing air traffic.
Drones can be great tools, and can capture wonderful photographs. But they also can be dangerous in crowded settings, in places where they can startle or harass wildlife, or where they can crash into priceless objects or natural curiosities, such as Grand Prismatic Spring. Unfortunately, if parks can't afford to have rangers out patrolling the grounds, more and more drone jockeys will figure their odds of being caught are long.
Comments
Actually, anonymous, you can't shoot your guns in the parks. You can carry them, but you can't shoot them.
It's not illegal as there is no law that bans drones over NPS adminstered lands. They aribrarily put in place a policy which they have no legal authority to enforce. A policy is not a law. If they want a ban they must follow the proper procedures and establish law. Furthermore they do not have authority to administer airspace. Only the federal governmen could do this and as a department of interior agency they do not have the authority to do so. Hopefully if they do fine someone they will fight for their rights and sue the agency as trying to fine people for this would be in itself truly illegal.
If there isn't, there should be.
ChrisF - the Department of the Interior IS a federal agency. I'm afraid I'm not going to take your personal declaration that they have no authority over their lands.
After air operations at a current fire in Utah were shut down more than five times by drones, the Utah legislature passed an emergency bill authorizing law enforcement officers, both state and Federal, to knock drones out of the sky by blocking their control frequencies or by using a device that will lead officers to the controller in the scofflaw's hands.
Consideration was given to the idea of simply shooting them down, but that was dropped because of concern for firefighter safety with bullets or buckshot flying.
The Federal Aviation Administration may also have a few disgreements with the idea that there are no laws regarding drones or other aircraft flying over national park areas. There are, in fact, a number of FARs (Federal Air Regulations) dealing with that issue.
The Rangers are busy trying to prevent gang members from breaking into the cars of tourists (like your car and my car) at the overlook in the Marin Headlands and other places that attract ripoffs. It's not like a drone next to the freeway is disturbing wildlife. I wish the Rangers had enough time to ticket and remove the arrogant dog owners who feel entitled to bring their pets to the National Park instead of creating dog parks in their own town as dogs disturb wildlife more than drones (yes, even though dogs are 'natural' and drones are not) which is why drones are used to monitor, count and study an assortment of wild animals.
However, if I'm not mistaken, I think the Park Service may be using drones to monitor us. I have seen them in 'wilderness' areas like Drakes Estero. We know the NPS uses video suveillence in many applications.
The Rangers in the Park are busy patrolling popular places where ripoffs occur, like where a carload of thugs will smash your window to get to your purse....while you are taking selfies at the overlook. If your car has NOT been broken into you can thank a Ranger for that....As for drones in the Park (and specifically wilderness areas) it seems the Park Service is OK with flying their own drones...I was followed by no less than 5 drones one evening while hiking in Drakes Estero. Apparently they use drones to monitor restoration projects.