The director of the National Park Service on Friday banned unmanned flying drones on all land and water administered by the agency.
Jonathan Jarvis directed superintendents of all Park Service properties to “prohibit the launching, landing, or operating unmanned aircraft.”
In the Northland, that includes Voyageurs and Isle Royale national parks as well as the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, St. Croix River National Scenic Riverway and Grand Portage National Monument.
All permits previously issued for unmanned aircraft will be suspended.
“We embrace many activities in national parks because they enhance visitor experiences with the iconic natural, historic and cultural landscapes in our care,” Jarvis said in a statement released Friday. “However, 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.”
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The move comes as federal aviation officials struggle to decide on nationwide regulations for unmanned aircraft, spurred by the proliferation of drones which have become cheaper and more widely available to the general public in the past year.
Drones already had been prohibited at several national parks after noise and nuisance complaints from park visitors, an incident in which park wildlife were harassed, and park visitor safety concerns. That included an unauthorized flight of an unmanned aircraft that flew above evening visitors seated in the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Amphitheater. Park rangers concerned for visitors’ safety confiscated the unmanned aircraft.
In April, visitors at Grand Canyon National Park reported a loud unmanned aircraft flying back and forth at sunset and eventually crashing in the canyon. Later in the month, volunteers at Zion National Park in Utah witnessed an unmanned aircraft disturb a herd of bighorn sheep, reportedly separating adults from young animals.
Chuck Remus, chief ranger at Voyageurs, said he has heard of no drone incidents in the park that includes lakes along the Minnesota-Ontario border.
The policy memorandum signed Friday is a temporary measure until a more formal Park Service rule is adopted, a process that could take more than a year and includes public input.
