ok so this happened last week at zion and i still dont fully know if i was technically in the wrong or not. i launched from outside the park boundary, like i had checked the map and i was definitely on BLM land, not inside the national park. flew for maybe 8 minutes, got some decent footage of the canyon from a distance, then landed. ranger pulls up basically immediately, asks to see my drone and my registration.

i showed him everything, he looked it over, made a call on his radio, and then basically said he couldnt do anything since i was outside park limits but that i should be careful. the whole thing was kind of tense though. he seemed annoyed more than anything. just wanted to share cause i see people acting like as long as youre not inside the park youre totally fine but the rangers dont always see it that way, at least in my experience.

yeah the NPS rangers can be pretty aggressive about this stuff even when your technically in the right. ive had similar situations in moab area. i always screenshot my airspace authorization and the exact boundary coordinates now just so i have something to show if someone questions me. not that it always helps but at least you have evidence.

honestly this is why i just dont fly anywhere near national parks anymore. the footage is never worth the stress and the rules change constantly anyway. theres plenty of BLM land out west with just as good views and zero rangers rolling up on you