Illegal Drones Banned in Utah National Parks are Flying Thanks to the Government Shutdown

Will illegal drone footage increase in Utah’s National Parks with the government shutdown? What is already a contentious issue is increasing with lack of park personnel to enforce the rules. 

Drones Cannot Be Flown in National Parks 

Since 2014 flying drones inside National Monument and National Park airspace has been strictly prohibited. However, there are videos all over social media of people blatantly ignoring the rules. 

This was brought to the forefront recently when a drone company released an advertisement and it is filled with illegal footage of National Park in Utah and elsewhere. The video has since been removed. 

With the Government Shutdown, Banned Activities are Growing 

With the problems in Washington approving a budget, the National Parks are only partially open. You can visit the sites out in the open, but visitor centers and any building requiring staffing are closed to the public. 

There have been reports out of Yosemite of people entering the park to base jump off the cliffs there while the National Park Service is not at work. Other parks are reporting people taking over the campgrounds and squatting for days. 

Read More: Most Dangerous Hikes in the World Include Two in Utah

This is why something like a drone ban is getting ignored and conflict among park visitors is increasing. Thankfully in Utah the state has picked up the slack to keep parks open and may mitigate some of the chaos happening elsewhere.