Yesterday, the US Federal Aviation Administration, at the request of “US national security and law enforcement agencies,” announced that it will be banning anyone from flying drones within 400 feet of multiple national landmarks. The tourist destinations are run by the Department of the Interior, which controls the country’s national parks system.
From the FAA’s announcement, the banned locations include:
- Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York, NY
- Boston National Historical Park (U.S.S. Constitution), Boston, MA
- Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, PA
- Folsom Dam; Folsom, CA
- Glen Canyon Dam; Lake Powell, AZ
- Grand Coulee Dam; Grand Coulee, WA
- Hoover Dam; Boulder City, NV
- Jefferson National Expansion Memorial; St. Louis, MO
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial; Keystone, SD
- Shasta Dam; Shasta Lake, CA
The restrictions will go into place on Oct. 5, meaning you have just under one week to get all the aerial footage of America’s treasured landmarks you want before getting in trouble with the FAA. (It’s worth pointing out, though, that some of these sites are already off-limits for drones under current FAA guidelines, given that they fall within 5 miles of an airport.)