There is no question that The United States of America has some truly beautiful national parks. With over 400 properties, The National Park service has a lot to offer visitors. These parks are filled with breathtaking vistas, protected animal and plant species, and serene experiences for travelers. When people come to these parks it is expected that they will want to document their experiences with photos and film. However, one very popular means of capturing images has been banned in all National Park properties since 2014. That method would be images captured via drones.

Yellowstone Park, one of the most famous US National Parks, was home to one of the most famous faulty drone flights. Five years ago Theodorus Van Vliet, a Dutch tourist, brought his DJI Phantom quad-copter into the park and crashed it into the Grand Prismatic Spring. For this infraction he was fined more than $3,000 and his very expensive drone was never recovered. It is the drone stuck in the spring that has scientist concerned. There is no way of knowing what kind of effect the drone can have on the beautiful hot spring. It could be clogging one of the spring’s vents, or even worse alter the microbial mats that lend to the spring’s natural beauty as it melts.

Drone flights in National parks don’t only run the risk of creating damage as did Van Vliet’s drone. Their loud motors are a distraction to people hiking and enjoying a moment in nature. At least humans can understand the sounds made by an invasive drone, but not so much for wildlife. Another notorious drone flight that happened in a US National Park is one that was able to get up close and personal with a wild grizzly bear in Jackson Hole. This 2017 incident didn’t seem to bother the bear much, but that is not always the case. A short time before that a Washington, D.C man spooked a herd of 1,500 elk in the National Elk Refuge. The drone caused the wild animals to stampede toward Miller Butte, far from the safety of the park.

It is widely known throughout the droning community that US National Parks are off limits. So it raised a lot of questions when earlier this month a drone video was posted featuring a Rollerblader in Yellowstone Park. The company in question, Skydio, is a startup based out of California. The company was created by former Google employees who raised over $28 million with the help of celebrity investors like Justin Timberlake and Magic Johnson.

The video was posted to Skydio’s Instagram account, claiming to have been shot in Iceland. Initially the video received a lot of praise, that is until viewers realized that it was actually filmed along the West Thumb Geyser Boardwalk, a part of Yellowstone Park. An Instagramer set the record straight when he commented “It’s not Iceland, it’s Yellowstone National Park, and it’s illegal to fly drones in national parks. Shady and irresponsible marketing!” Not only was the use of a drone within the park illegal, but rollerblading (or an type of in-line skating) is also illegal within any US National Park.

Needless to say, the video has since been removed from Skydio’s account, and representatives of the company are not willing to make any comments at the time. What consequences they may face have not yet been determined. According to Morgan Warthin, a spokeswoman for the park, Yellowstone Rangers are investigating the situation, “They are aware, and they will investigate it. What’s important to recognize is that there are so many incidents of drone use that we deal with. Visitors using drones in Yellowstone is a problem.”

The bottom line, if you ever have the privilege to visit one of the many beautiful US National Parks, leave your drone at home. Feel free to enjoy the environment, take plenty of pictures or videos. Just use a handheld device and be respectful of your surroundings.

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