Posted on 04/12/2017 5:09:22 PM PDT by SJackson
Last week, a Washington D.C. resident was fined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for using his drone to fly over a large herd of elk in hopes of getting up-close photographs. The drone caused the herd to bolt and run about a half mile on the National Elk Refuge near Jackson.
Elk Refuge spokeswoman Lori Iverson said with so much snow this winter, it’s already been a hard year for wildlife and the drone caused the elk extra stress. Iverson said it’s important for drone operators to educate themselves on the policies of any agency where they plan to fly.
“Part of it is just being aware of your circumstances, what natural resources or wildlife impacts it could have. Knowing that there’s an airport in proximity to where you’re flying your drone. Is there helicopter use? In addition, to know the regulations of having to have the drones registered with the FAA,” said Iverson.
Iverson said not only did the drone disturb wildlife, but it also could have caused problems for helicopters using the nearby St. John’s Medical Center or Jackson Hole Airport.
This is a lot of sh**....cuz park people and enviro people do it all the time.
As other coverage has noted, the DC resident harassing elk near Jackson Hole, not a low income destination, got off with an under $300 fine. Harrassment of wildlife is $5m. And I believe drones are not allowed on federal property. At least parks, monuments and refuges. Which this is.
Moral of this story, use drone with care and don’t think you have same rights as a government employee.
Please add me to your list. Thx
And act as an ecological warrior to keep the goose poop off the park grass lands (where the City hires goose chasers to perform the same service on the taxpayers' dimes).
Didn’t the BLM do this at the Bundy Ranch with no penalty?
Wonder if this perp was a park people or enviro people. Or just a DC government people.
Don’t know, if they did they were harassing humans, not animals, which I presume is ok.
They were driving the cattle. In some cases to their death.
Cost of a Park People Party.
“This is a lot of sh**....cuz park people and enviro people do it all the time.”
There’s a film maker that intends to use both air and water drones in the Gila Wilderness near me. His film is going to be a propaganda piece about “saving” the Gila river, so I expect that he’ll get special permission to break the rules. The Forest Service is another agency that needs draining.
Perhaps we have to get back to something that worked....CCC Camps.
Jobs for young men, army type life, satisfaction.
Both my dad and his brother participated.
What you really don’t want to do is piss off the tigers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVj-u3j3KBk
>Knowing that there’s an airport in proximity to where you’re flying your drone. Is there helicopter use?
Dude, first off, helos are the easiest to avoid and to know when they are coming your way. Out here in the sticks and stones where the .99 mach come to play I have to always be ready for evasive action.
My fastest RC plane can do over 240 mph and the cowboys in F16s, F18s and jet trainers can be on me before I do a split S
to get lower than they are.
When flying the drone, I usually bring the coon cat with me and she lets me know when incoming are miles away.
When I finally can retire from work I’ll take the time to post some videos on a youtube channels or something. When I have a camera on the craft you can see the pre-shockwave wobble my aircraft goes through when our “converters of fuel to noise and speed” go by within 200 meters of me.
The poor kitty popped the LiPo! Whomever was flying the drone was not too pretty bright.
Thats boo chit.
I’d appeal...
Next thing you know, they will insist on suppressors so hunters’ shots don’t spook the herd....
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