Drones Officially Banned in all National Parks

Visitors to the nation’s 401 National Parks have one more rule to remember before heeding their call to the wild: In addition to not feeding the bears or drinking water from the creek, don’t bring a drone.

National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis signed a memorandum Friday that will ban the use of unmanned aircraft across 84 million acres of public lands, saying the hum of the drone is not a fit for some of the nation’s most scenic and untamed real estate.

A person launches a drone in the great outdoors, an activity that the National Park Service prohibited Friday. (Associated Press)
A person launches a drone in the great outdoors, an activity that the National Park Service prohibited Friday. (Associated Press)
Drones outfitted with cameras have increasingly been spotted buzzing the cliff-side faces of presidents at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. They’ve crashed into walls at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. One even pestered a herd of big horn sheep at Zion National Park in Utah, prompting the young to be separated from their parents.

“We have serious concerns about the negative impact that flying unmanned aircraft is having in parks, so we are prohibiting their use until we can determine the most appropriate policy that will protect park resources and provide all visitors with a rich experience,” Jarvis said in a statement.

Under his order, park superintendents at places like Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Yosemite National Park have 60 days to put drone prohibitions on their books.

The new policy clears up any confusion about whether unmanned aircraft have been legal to fly on park lands.

In some places, park officials have ordered people to ground their drones, citing laws that prevent visitors from harassing wildlife or threatening public safety. Yosemite rangers began a crackdown this spring, saying federal law gave them general powers to halt flight.

Friday’s action provides a uniform rule exclusive to drones. Jarvis’ order will remain in effect until a service-wide prohibition is officially adopted, a process that involves collecting public input and can take a year or more.

Drones have become increasingly popular as their price has dropped and their capabilities have expanded. The devices range in size from a bird to a small plane and often carry cameras to take aerial video or photographs.

In May, rangers at Yosemite began approaching people who flew the devices and let them know the park was no longer tolerating them.

“There are so many things wrong with it,” Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman told The Chronicle last month. “It’s just not conducive to what we’re trying to do here in Yosemite.”