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
jmk84 hit the nail on the head. Ilove the outdoors, I love the national parks. I understand they can disturb the wildlife. I have talked to state park rangers about this. They have given me live time information about places where I would disturb wildlife that needs protection and places that are less likely to impact scecies that need protecting.
The real problem I have here is the double standard. You will see everyday, multiple times a day, helicopters with tourists going underneather, yes, UNDERNEATH Golden Gate Bridge. It's a daily thing. Yet I do that with a drone, and it's a big crime. Those helicopters could crash into the bridge and kill thousands of people. But it's ok, nobodys going to stop that...
I can get a small plane or helicopter, and fly through the grand cayon, but a drone is illegal? Last time I checked, drones make less noise than planes or helicopters, thus they distrub wildlife less. So why are planes and helicopters ok, but not drones?
It's a double standard. I fly at ocean beach regularly. I've never had any issues, and if I did, I would ask them to point to a safer place for me to fly, becuase there really isn't a less populated, open area in San Francisco.
Just becuase this is a new industry and you don't personally enjoy it, dosen't mean you should tell people they can't do it. This is the land of the free, where your suppose to have the right to do what you want. You think walking on these trails in national parks don't disturb wildlife?
End the drone double standard. The national park should imposse reasonable regulations and move on. Cause as it is now, people will just ignore this blanket ban of drones in most places where they know park rangers are unlikely to be found.
Anon - you can carry in a National Park but you cannot shoot at will and certainly not at bottles.
Drones appear also at Grand Canyon National park. Hey, they can fly them if they launch outside the park just like the commercial air tours that are highly restrictive the routes they can fly. I mentioned the rules to one drone pilot (politely) and he got kind of snarky. I went on with my group I was guiding to a very special spot. When I returned the drone and it's pilot was gone. However, he left his laptop on the wall. I turned it in to NPS as they have a very good Lost and Found with the story behind it.
jmk84 has a chip on his/her shoulder. Why can't all these people just follow the law? I don't mtn bike in the Wilderness of Point Reyes because of the law, though it makes no sense to me, and they should follow the law as well.
Luke...
You say; "Just becuase this is a new industry and you don't personally enjoy it, dosen't mean you should tell people they can't do it. This is the land of the free, where your suppose to have the right to do what you want. You think walking on these trails in national parks don't disturb wildlife?"
What an entitled attitude. It is NOT 'just because" it is new, and you have no idea who else enjoys what. It is NOT the NPS' or FAA's or anyone else's responsibility to find places for you to use your expensive toy.
There have been many dangerous circumstances mentioned above but which you ignore. One thing about living in this land of the free that you cite is NOT putting others at risk just cuz you feel like playing.