Criminal activity is nothing new in America’s nationwide parks. Redwoods National and State Park has been dealing with sign swipers since January, and BASE jumpers are taking advantage of the government shutdown to perform illegal jumps in Yosemite.
It is one factor for people to behave on their rebellious impulses in nationwide parks, however it’s one other for an organization to make use of their doubtlessly unlawful exploits in a advertising marketing campaign.
DJI has discovered itself on the heart of such an argument after the discharge of their MAVIC 4 drone promo raised some critical purple flags. The promo, that includes video of quite a few nationwide parks and tribal lands taken with their latest mannequin, may violate a number of federal legal guidelines and restrictions.
The most recent promo by DJI entails a four-minute video titled The West Awaits—Epic Street-trip Journey Captured with 100MP Mavic 4 Professional. The video options intensive photographs of Yellowstone Nationwide Park’s Prismatic Spring, the badlands of Loss of life Valley Nationwide Park, and the Golden Gate Bridge in Golden Gate Nationwide Recreation Space.
The long-lasting Grand Canyon Nationwide Park can also be a central a part of the video. As one of many most-visited nationwide parks within the U.S., drone use is an everyday downside within the park as is. In February 2025, a person was arrested for flying an unauthorized drone round Pinyon Plain uranium mine, which isn’t truly in Grand Canyon Nationwide Park, however is subsequent to the enduring area and enjoys comparable protections.
If the potential nationwide park violations aren’t sufficient, the video additionally highlights Monument Valley and the Shiprock formation, each of that are on Navajo Tribal land. Like nationwide parks, tribal lands have strict legal guidelines round drone use, notably on condition that many of those pure wonders carry tribal significance, with areas like Shiprock being thought of sacred to native tribes.
What Are The Legal guidelines Surrounding Drone Use In Nationwide Parks And Tribal Lands
The DJI Mavic promo video doubtlessly violates quite a few federal statutes, relying on the area they flew in. The primary alleged violation is flying in nationwide park airspace with no allow. Drone use in nationwide parks has been strictly prohibited since 2014, in keeping with Policy Memorandum 14-05, which states the next:
“Launching, touchdown, or working an unmanned plane from or on lands and waters administered by the Nationwide Park Service is prohibited, besides as authorized in writing by the superintendent.”
The memorandum does go away wiggle room for authorized use, notably for nationwide park staff and scientific analysis efforts. Personal and industrial use can also be permitted with a Particular Use Allow (SUP). The issue with DJI’s video is that there isn’t a public report of such permits being filed. Whereas this doesn’t imply they did not get a allow, their lack of transparency is seen as trigger for concern.
If they didn’t obtain permits for the promotional video, they’re additionally in violation of Navajo Nation Transportation Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Policy (RDCD-107-18). The coverage, enacted in 2018, restricts all drone use over tribal land with out particular permits. Violations begin at $500 to $1,000 fines, however extra critical infractions, resembling flying close to culturally vital landmarks (like Shiprock), can result in extra critical penalties.
Navajo Nation Transportation UAV Penalties
|
Minor/First Offense: |
$500–$1,000 wonderful |
|
Working Close to Sacred Lands: |
Increased Fines, Drone Confiscated |
|
Inflicting Injury W/ Drone: |
Felony Prices, Civil Legal responsibility |
|
Repeated Violations: |
Felony Prices beneath Tribal Regulation |
Sadly, one of the crucial vital penalties of violating both coverage is confiscation of the offending drone, which can not carry the identical weight for an organization like DJI. Feedback on the promo video additionally level out that the drone used for the promo is just not out there for buy within the U.S., so there isn’t a manner for both NPS or the Navajo tribe to enact penalties like proscribing gross sales.
Moreover, whereas $1,000 fines are vital for a person, an organization is way much less more likely to be deterred by such a determine, main many to hypothesize within the feedback of the video that DJI merely determined to take an “ask forgiveness not permission” method to their promotional video.
Why Drone Use Is Such A Drawback In Nationwide Parks And Tribal Lands
Drone controversy is nothing new, notably in nationwide parks and in tribal lands. Repeated problematic use was what led to the above insurance policies being enacted to start with. There are a number of causes drone use is prohibited in these areas. The Nationwide Park Service gave 5 key causes to justify the 2014 ban:
- Customer Security
- Customer Expertise/ Noise Air pollution
- Wildlife Safety
- Useful resource Safety
- Enforcement & Legal responsibility
The Navajo Nation had comparable causes for its coverage, with added considerations about defending tribal sovereignty, together with retaining cultural and ceremonial areas personal.
Nationwide parks and tribal lands each shield irreplaceable pure environments that may be completely broken by drone use. In 2018, a fireplace in Coconino Nationwide Forest, Arizona, was triggered by a drone crash within the space. The hearth burned 335 acres earlier than it was contained.
Even with out inflicting a pure catastrophe, drones trigger noise air pollution that may disrupt the customer expertise and, maybe extra importantly, stress wildlife within the space. Drones have been identified to trigger stampedes of herd animals like bison and elk, and may trigger stress to nesting birds.
The Audobon Society has recorded a number of situations the place birds have deserted their nests after drone exercise. Most notably, 1000’s of Elegant Terns deserted their nests in Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, California after a drone, which was flying illegally within the space, crashed on the nesting web site. Roughly 1,500 eggs have been deserted, successfully wiping out a whole era with a single reckless act.
Whereas there isn’t a definitive proof that DJI’s new promo video was filmed with out permits, the shortage of proof of such permission is reigniting the dialog about drone use in protected areas. Even with permits, drones in nationwide parks and tribal lands could cause irreversible harm, disrupting wildlife and interfering with customer expertise.
Most viewers and park lovers agree that it’s higher to keep away from the controversy altogether and keep away from drone use, except it’s a part of an authorized undertaking by the Nationwide Park Service or scientific examine.
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