Government Shutdown Leads to Spike in Illegal Drone Flights Over Yosemite
The ongoing government shutdown is emboldening rule-breakers and thrill-seekers to get away with illegally flying drones, among other restricted activities.
It has been particularly apparent at Yosemite National Park in California, which has remained open but with a greatly reduced staff, many of whom are furloughed.
Guides and visitors are reporting multiple drone sightings per day, despite it being illegal to fly a drone in Yosemite since 2014. Many people believe that drone laws are too heavy-handed and dismiss any outrage, but there have been ugly instances of irresponsible pilots purposely harassing wildlife.
Elisabeth Barton, CEO of tour company Echo Adventure Cooperative, tells KQED that “there are lots of drones in the skies, like everywhere.”
“There is a standard being set for a national park visitor — the folks who would never dare pull a drone out of their vehicle because it’s just against the rules and they know it,” Barton says. “While they’re in the park, they’re seeing all these drones moving and they’re like, ‘You know what, maybe it’s not that big of a deal?’”
It’s not just drone pilots either; BASE jumpers are brazenly leaping from El Capitan in the middle of the day — another activity outlawed in national parks. People are also camping in their cars, taking campground spots that aren’t theirs, and hiking the Half Dome summit without a permit.
Tour guide Bryant Burnette, who also works for Echo Adventure Cooperative, tells SFGate he has noticed an uptick in surly behavior from drone operators he’s encountered.
“I don’t know if it’s what’s going on in the world, but people have been less friendly recently,” Burnette says. “I’ve had people tell me that they don’t care and even one guy who said nothing and just flipped me off.”
While most visitors to Yosemite are well-intentioned, there are a few who are taking advantage of the lack of rangers to do whatever they want. This sense of lawlessness is creating an “eerie” atmosphere in the park, according to KQED.
And it’s not just Yosemite: A video shot at Great Smoky Mountains National Park shows a drone pilot shamelessly intimidating a bear. The video, which was posted to the ‘touronsofnationalparks’ Instagram page, shows the bear visibly distressed and was reportedly chased out of the tree it was in.
Drone manufacturer DJI recently fell foul of the drone rules after it posted a video containing footage that had been captured in airspace above national parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, and many others. The video was later deleted.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
