A permit has been approved to allow the use of a drone at Cape Cod National Seashore by researchers working to map a variety of coastal landscapes.
Cape Cod Superintendent George Price said the flights over the Nauset Marsch and Coast Guard Beach area will be conducted between February 29 and March 20 as part of a research project with the United States Geological Survey.
The use of drones in national park units has been strictly controlled by policy since June 2014. Some units of the park system experienced a number of problems where drone pilots harassed wildlife, interfered with visitor experiences, and interfered with aircraft attacking wildfires in Western states, forcing the grounding of the craft for safety reasons. At Cape Cod National Seashore, park staff has documented instances where people using drones harassed grey seals off Coast Guard Beach.
The Park Service does allow drone use if the project supports the mission of the park unit. Permits in those instances have to be approved by the park superintendent, the regional director, and the associate director for visitor and resource protection in Washington, D.C.
The USGS staff from the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center developed the permit application for this project to evaluate the feasibility, cost, and data quality for high resolution mapping of a variety of coastal landscapes (beaches, dunes, bluffs, overwash channels, back-barrier marshes) using equipment mounted on a drone. Their project is scheduled to avoid sensitive endangered or listed species, provides for safeguards, and utilizes equipment that has reduced noise technology to limit impacts to humans and wildlife.
Comments
What about race point ? 2017 July and August?