
Unmanned Aircraft to be Prohibited in America’s National Parks - hanapbuhay
http://home.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1601
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terravion
Actually the policy sounds quite sensible and doesn't sound like it will lead
to a permanent ban--just a policy about how you can or cannot annoy your
fellows in a commons.

As the sky gets fuller, it will be less and less likely that users will be
able to get away with acting like they are the only ones flying.

~~~
orik
I agree this was a great call by the National Park Service, however I hope it
does become a permanent ban- the only people using drones in the National Park
should be Park Rangers.

Civilians have no place operating drones anywhere near a nature preserve.

~~~
ChuckMcM
Allow me to disagree slightly. If I'm on El Capitan in Yosemite I might think
it was a stellar idea to get a picture of me and my spouse from the
perspective of just _off_ the face. That would both put me in the picture and
put this amazing rock formation in it as well. Currently you can only do that
if you hire a helicopter.

'Getting the right shot' kills a lot of tourists (I wish I knew exactly how
many), if they were using drones to position the camera into that potentially
dangerous position they might not die.

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danpat
The problem is that you're interrupting the view and the serenity for others
while you take that photo. It doesn't take too many people doing that and all
of a sudden, the airspace of the park would be full of drones, spoiling it for
everyone, a classic case of a tragedy of the commons.

How frustrating would it be if you couldn't get that nice photo without
someone elses drone in it from your flying drone?

I live near the Banff National Park in Canada, and it's a continuous game of
tug-of-war for the wardens trying to decide what activities to allow in the
park. With no restrictions, the place would quickly be overrun. When the point
is to experience the wilderness, you have to be very aware that some
activities can very quickly, and with very few people, destroy that experience
for everyone.

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jws
I can see making the tourist vistas be drone free. Some of these parks are
huge. Operating a quiet drone a mile from the nearest other human diminishes
no one else's experience.

The park service allows automobiles, needlessly loud motorcycles, generators
for RVs (within limits), and any number of greater nuisances. (Including the
other 20,000 people who came the the Grand Canyon south rim on the day I did.)

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dragonwriter
> The park service allows automobiles, needlessly loud motorcycles, generators
> for RVs (within limits), and any number of greater nuisances.

And they restrict where all those things can go, too. If they restricted
drones the same way, they might as well ban them outright.

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DEinspanjer
I get the complaints about noise and potential danger. Some of these drones
are potentially lethal! When I'm flying my drone, I am always very careful to
look for areas without unaware bystanders and where I won't be a nuisance. For
the more advanced drones being built and bought today, they typically use an
autopilot with a GPS and barometric sensor to assist hovering and positioning.
If any part of the system fails, it can very easily come crashing down or even
worse, become a "fly-away" and land who-knows-where.

Given these issues, I do understand the reasoning behind the ban. At the same
time, I cringe because it will likely be years before one will be able to get
a permit to fly in a national park again, and given some of the footage I've
shot so far from my drone, I would have loved the opportunity to shoot
locations to which I couldn't walk or hike.

If you want to see an example of what one of them looks like and what they can
do, take a look here:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDF3-35aekk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDF3-35aekk)

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beat
As long as there are reasonable exceptions for legitimate scientific work (and
I'm sure there are).

In Yellowstone, there's a scenic overlook where you can look through a
telescope at a distant hot springs. The springs have a thin crust over boiling
mud, so humans cannot enter them. I can see valuable scientific research on
such areas using inexpensive drones.

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mzemel
I was in Zion National Park about a month ago and overheard two rangers
talking about these drones. At the time, it was illegal to take off or land
inside the park but, as they did not control the airspace, you could fly them
in the air.

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jqm
I'm guessing this won't be the last place unmanned aircraft get banned.
Probably the places they can actually be flown might eventually be fewer than
the places they are banned.

In fact, I am guessing as the technology matures and inevitable problems arise
because of drones, rather than addressing the problems and working out a
solution the first response will generally be....."Ban It!". This might change
when/if demonstrable public benefits (beyond a guy taking some pictures)
arise.

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mrfusion
It's a shame. I think they would be useful for preventing poaching.

~~~
njharman
Is poaching really an issue in USA? Honest question. Doesn't seem too common
[https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&e...](https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=poaching+US+national+parks) More plants and
trees than animals.

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msie
There should be an exception for search and rescue operations.

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jcurbo
There already is, if you read the article.

"The National Park Service may use unmanned aircraft for administrative
purposes such as search and rescue, fire operations and scientific study.
These uses must also be approved by the associate director for Visitor and
Resource Protection."

~~~
msie
Oops, the one article I didn't read this month. :S

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rwhitman
Thats a bummer for model airplane enthusiasts

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outside1234
i am all for this ban.

but how are they going to enforce this? drones will increasingly be able to
flown from miles away.

are they going to shoot them down?

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Shivetya
put a string on it and call it a kite.

now if the unmanned air craft were silent and didn't spook wildlife I could
see not have a restriction

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seany
Wouldn't this not effect anything if you fly over 500ft AGL?

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shawn-butler
Yes, because you will use "public" lands and enjoy them in exactly and only in
the way we tell you to.

This is just a precursor to them selling a permit for $1000 a day or
something.

~~~
objclxt
How right you are. Why, I should be allowed to drive however I want on
"public" roads, because they're for the public. What a fantastic world that
would be.

~~~
shawn-butler
You can drive however you like on "public" roads so long as you are not a harm
to yourself or others. You can go where you like, when you like and drive your
choice of vehicle.

Please explain to me how a UAV is a harm to someone in national parks.

PS to those down voting me (for as usual on HN no clear reason whatsoever
other than disagreement) that the national park service has been using UAS for
years. I'm sure their use is "safe" and will continue for years to come.

[http://www.nps.gov/fire/aviation/safety/unmanned-aerial-
syst...](http://www.nps.gov/fire/aviation/safety/unmanned-aerial-systems.cfm)

The FAA has been handing out exemptions to its ban on UAV to sister federal
agencies and denying the public fair use.

