Current Environmental News Issues: Park Rangers Ban Drones at Yosemite National Park, Say They're Ruining Park's Beauty
Yosemite National Park issued a warning Friday stating that unmanned drone aircraft are prohibited within the park's boundaries, claiming they take away from the park's scenic splendor.
The unmanned drones are used to record the park's natural beauty. However, park rangers are not happy about the prevalence of the small aircrafts, the Los Angeles Times reports.
"The park has experienced an increase in visitors using drones within park boundaries over the last few years," officials said in a statement. "Drones have been witnessed filming climbers ascending climbing routes, filming views above tree-tops, and filming aerial footage of the park."
Officials said that drones pose a safety threat in addition to ruining aesthetics.
"Drones can be extremely noisy, and can impact the natural soundscape," officials said. "Drones can also impact the wilderness experience for other visitors, creating an environment that is not conducive to wilderness travel."
While the use of drones is already illegal within the park, it is not clear if any amateur pilots have been caught flying drones. There has been an increase in a use of drones at the park due to greater accessibility to small, "personal" drone aircrafts. Amateur pilots can outfit drones with small cameras, such as GoPros, and get aerial photographs of the park for around $1,000.
The park service referred to the ban in a section of the Code of Federal Regulations 36 CFR 2.17, which reads, "delivering or retrieving a person or object by parachute, helicopter, or other airborne means, except in emergencies involving public safety or serious property loss, or pursuant to the terms and conditions of a permit" is illegal.
The law only exempts government drones and emergency rescues. Recently, military drones have been used to help combat forest fires.
Despite the federal regulation, federal law has not been clear on the laws concerning citizen drone usage. The Federal Aviation Administration has not yet drafted complete regulations concerning the domestic use of drones and is not expected to write up regulations until the fall of 2015. However, this year, a federal judge ruled that the FAA does not have the authority to regulate drones that are used for hobbyist purposes.
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