{"id":20044,"date":"2018-09-07T18:40:03","date_gmt":"2018-09-07T18:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:55:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:55:20","slug":"taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Crawl, Walk, Run … Fly. Unmanned aerial systems in national parks are just starting to realize their potential.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
In 2012 the National Park Service flew its first drone-based mission over Hawaii\u2019s Mount Haleakela. Nearly six years later, the service has flown approximately 250 unmanned aerial system missions across the country. The agency\u2019s drones do everything from putting out fires to finding lost visitors and they give NPS employees an increasingly valuable tool for preserving park and patron well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPretty much anything we are using airplanes and helicopters to acquire data on we are using UAS now, but on a lesser scale: photography, animal-counting, search and rescue, firefighting,\u201d said Meg Gallagher, branch chief for the NPS Aviation Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NPS graduated its first class of nine pilots, representing Grand Canyon and Alaska Regional Parks, in September 2016. Since then the program has more than doubled the number of pilots and tripled the number of participating parks. However, according to Jim Traub, NPS aviation branch contractor, the parks\u2019 UAS programs are still very much in their infancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe National Park Service graduated its first class of unmanned aerial system operators in September 2016 out of a training program at Grand Canyon National Park. (courtesy National Park Service)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a crawl, walk, run situation. And a couple of them are up to walk, a couple of them are just starting to crawl \u2014 nobody is running yet,\u201d said Traub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are six national parks that currently have UAS programs, with approximately 25 pilots across those programs. Two more parks are scheduled to begin programs in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The limited number of pilots, however, means that some operators are asked to take on new tasks far away from their usual base of operations, according to Britta Schroeder, geographic information systems specialist and UAS pilot at Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schroeder was sent to the Virgin Islands in November 2017 to help with surveying the damage caused by Hurricane Maria months prior. She said that while it was \u201cvery cool\u201d to be drawn out of her comfort zone, she had to adapt to the very different weather, time zones and geography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt spoke to the need for UAS within the park service. Not just UAS, but operators throughout the national park system,\u201d said Schroeder. \u201cIt was slightly ridiculous to send someone from Alaska all the way to the Virgin Islands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even within Alaska, the limited number of UAS pilots means that some operators must pack up with all of their equipment and ship out to other parks without dedicated UAS pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy vision would be that we have at least one UAS operator, if not a UAS operator and\/or a backup to that person, in each of our parks here in Alaska,\u201d said Jeffrey Babcock, Alaska regional aviation manager and UAS pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t necessarily think that everyone needs to be certified on a UAS, but to have people who are spread out throughout all these regions \u2014 especially in more remote locations like the Virgin Islands, Alaska, Hawaii \u2014 you can utilize these systems for their day-to-day operations,\u201d said Schroeder.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn Alaska, unmanned aerial systems are predominantly used in resource management projects. (courtesy National Park Service)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
UAS pilots Jeff Bryant, leasing program manager for the Northeast region, and John Becker, leasing specialist for the same region, use drones to photograph NPS properties up for lease. They said that they are the only two UAS pilots in the national parks east of the Mississippi River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though their program is only a couple months old, they\u2019ve already been getting requests to help with agricultural field surveys, large-scale event monitoring and a local deer count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if we\u2019ll actually participate in that or not, but sometimes going out to film these buildings makes the park aware that this use and this technology can be used in so many other things,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cI think as time goes on we\u2019re going to have other teams that will start to do this for other purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t quit your day job \u2026 yet <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
UAS pilots in the national parks typically fly drones as a secondary duty to their other responsibilities in the park. Pilots start out in a variety of positions, including mapping specialists, law enforcement and manned aircraft pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnybody can be a UAS operator, and that\u2019s kind of a cool thing,\u201d said Schroeder. \u201cThere are some specialties and technical skills that, if people have them, they might excel more at the UAS, but there\u2019s no reason why anyone in a particular park or region could not attain this operator status.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schroeder said that she spends about 20 percent of her time working on UAS projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many pilots, a portion of that time is devoted to developing systems and processes for UAS missions on the fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMost of the folks that are UAS pilots right now are building a whole bunch of stuff from scratch,\u201d Schroeder said, adding that in a couple of years, once processes have been established, that time could be cut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBritta Schroeder, a geographic information systems specialist and UAS pilot, spends about 20 percent of her time working on drone projects. (courtesy National Park Service)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor all of my pilots, it\u2019s all collateral duty. So everyone has day jobs, and this is just something that they have shown interest in and hopefully have the time to stay proficient and go out and do these missions,\u201d said Justin Jager, interagency aviation officer at Grand Canyon National Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maintaining that proficiency and currency with UAS updates can prove a time-consuming part of the process, according to NPS officials, and narrows the employee pool interested in the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot more time-consuming than originally I think anybody thought,\u201d said Gallagher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInitially there was a huge interest \u2014 until we began to explain the process for the park and the pilot to become certified and maintain their currency and run the program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just anyone can fly a drone within a national park. A very limited number of parks allow for recreational use of drones, while the rest only permit drones flown by licensed and permitted officials or contractors within the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The initial training to gain that licensure requires a sizeable investment of time and funds from potential pilots and their agencies. Pilots must pass Federal Aviation Administration testing for remote pilot certification before taking a weeklong Department of Interior course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe joke that just the FAA license, going through that process, was the most studying that we\u2019ve done since college,\u201d said Bryant. He added that the learning requirements for weather patterns, airspace and other components of the FAA test were \u201cpretty intense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe instructors did a great job of having us practice and learn how to fly our drones without a lot of the extra equipment that\u2019s on them,\u201d Bryant said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSpecifically, the GPS that\u2019s on a drone is kind of what makes it steady and stay in one place, and when you\u2019re using the GPS it\u2019s pretty easy to fly \u2014 it\u2019s hard to screw up with them. They did a good job of making us practice in manual mode with the GPS disabled, just for the off-chance that would happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<\/atype-video-jwplayer>Potential drone pilots attend a course at Grand Canyon National Park to learn how to fly in a variety of scenarios. (courtesy National Park Service)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
According to Babcock, the actual drones can cost a park anywhere between $2,000 and $5,000, with an additional $3,000 required to put a potential pilot through the initial training program. Sensor add-ons for each drone can also cost a few thousand dollars each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, NPS pilots fly small quadcopters, like the 3DR Solo, which can limit the length and kind of missions they undertake. The batteries for such drones generally last only 12 to 15 minutes. For areas like Alaska, getting the lithium polymer batteries used by the drones shipped can prove a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schroeder said that there are projects she must turn down because the requirements for the project extend beyond the combined battery life of her drone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can buy multimillion-dollar systems, but our budget cannot afford that. All of our aircraft right now are very small. They\u2019re in the thousands-of-dollars range,\u201d said Traub, explaining that with the program as young as it is, it\u2019s better to learn on smaller, less expensive systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we have a mission where we need a more robust \u2014 hence expensive \u2014 UAS that needs longer range, and maybe a more sophisticated sensor package, that is when we look and continue to look to the contracting world,\u201d Traub said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Another arrow in their quiver\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
NPS drones stand very little chance of replacing manned aircraft, like helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes, which are sometimes necessary to get UAS operators to their launch sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI look at UAS as another arrow in their quiver. It is not the solution to everything; it will not replace manned aircraft. In some places like Alaska, you still need a manned aircraft to take the UAS and the UAS operator to the site where the work is going to be done,\u201d said Traub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other programs, like the one in the Northeast region, face challenges with densely populated areas and nearby airports that restrict the available space to fly drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some UAS projects are designed to bring the national parks in line with progress made in the private sector, such as using drones to photograph property, but others have proven to be highly innovative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe did the first aerial ignition of a prescribed fire pretty much anywhere in the Department of the Interior and, we think, across the federal government,\u201d said Traub.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn a collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Nebraska Intelligent Mobile Unmanned Systems Laboratory, Homestead National Monument launched a prescribed burn program via drone in 2016. (courtesy National Park Service)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
That prescribed fire, which was a 2016 collaboration between Homestead National Monument of America and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln\u2019s Nebraska Intelligent Mobile Unmanned Systems Laboratory, dropped burning spheres within a marked-off ring. The fire otherwise would have been dangerous to light by hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Grand Canyon UAS program is also designed to increase efficiency while maintaining employee safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor me, personally, I\u2019m looking to decrease the risk to our aviators, as well as our park rangers [and] search-and-rescue folks when we\u2019re out there,\u201d said Jager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of our main mission profiles for our drones program is looking over the edge of the canyon for, presumably, a missing person or someone who has fallen off the cliff, either intentionally or unintentionally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Jager, Grand Canyon flies about 12 to 20 search-and-rescue flights per year. Their pilots are often asked to aid in missions at other parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Parks with UAS programs also regularly collaborate with and learn from each other, as each has a different area of expertise \u2014 such as search and rescue for Grand Canyon or a focus on resource management for Alaska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a pretty good user group up here. We get on the phone once a month to discuss what we\u2019ve been up to, and whether we came across any details that others may learn from. We get on the national phone calls every couple months to discuss the same sort of issues,\u201d Babcock said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NPS plans to line up advanced UAS classes that address incident response and data processing to prepare for the technological expansion and future uses of the parks\u2019 drones, according to Jager. But Grand Canyon, and likely other parks, won\u2019t be hitting the \u201crun\u201d stage for another five to 10 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The unmanned aerial system programs at NPS are still in early stages, according to officials, but they already show great promise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":60678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":15,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[104,106,31,15,33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2853],"class_list":["post-20044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acquisition-update","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-management","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"IOCOY4L23VDPLEYBOPOWU5CMYM","arc_canonical_url":"\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n
Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The unmanned aerial system programs at NPS are still in early stages, according to officials, but they already show great promise.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The unmanned aerial system programs at NPS are still in early stages, according to officials, but they already show great promise.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Federal Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-09-07T18:40:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T04:55:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessie Bur\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessie Bur\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2018-09-07T18:40:03+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:55:20+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 1917,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/FED-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-search-and-rescue-Cropped.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Acquisition and Management Update\",\n\t \"Daily Brief\",\n\t \"Home\",\n\t \"Inside the Agencies\",\n\t \"Newsletters\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators - Federal Times\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/FED-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-search-and-rescue-Cropped.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2018-09-07T18:40:03+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:55:20+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"The unmanned aerial system programs at NPS are still in early stages, according to officials, but they already show great promise.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/FED-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-search-and-rescue-Cropped.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/FED-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-search-and-rescue-Cropped.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/2018\\\/09\\\/07\\\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Inside the Agencies\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/management\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"management\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t \"description\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/federal-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/federal-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Federal Times\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators - Federal Times","description":"The unmanned aerial system programs at NPS are still in early stages, according to officials, but they already show great promise.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators","og_description":"The unmanned aerial system programs at NPS are still in early stages, according to officials, but they already show great promise.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/","og_site_name":"Federal Times","article_published_time":"2018-09-07T18:40:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T04:55:20+00:00","author":"Jessie Bur","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jessie Bur","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators","datePublished":"2018-09-07T18:40:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:55:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/"},"wordCount":1917,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FED-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-search-and-rescue-Cropped.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Acquisition and Management Update","Daily Brief","Home","Inside the Agencies","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/","name":"Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators - Federal Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FED-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-search-and-rescue-Cropped.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2018-09-07T18:40:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:55:20+00:00","description":"The unmanned aerial system programs at NPS are still in early stages, according to officials, but they already show great promise.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FED-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-search-and-rescue-Cropped.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FED-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-search-and-rescue-Cropped.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2018\/09\/07\/taking-to-the-skies-inside-the-world-of-national-park-service-drone-operators\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Inside the Agencies","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/","ad_zone":"management"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Taking to the skies: Inside the world of National Park Service drone operators"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","name":"Federal Times","description":"Federal Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization","name":"Federal Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/federal-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/federal-logo-white.png","caption":"Federal Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Federal Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FED-Grand-Canyon-National-Park-search-and-rescue-Cropped.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20044"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20048,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20044\/revisions\/20048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20044"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=20044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FEDGrand-Canyon-National-Park-Fleet-UAS-Training-20160930-Cropped.jpg.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FED-Alaska-Drone-Cropped.jpg.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AK_Resource_Flight-1-Cropped.jpg.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FED-Homestead-National-Monument-of-America-20160422-9203-Cropped.jpg.jpg\")