Public Meeting on Drone Use

Drone over Cape Perpetua.\Photo by Rena Olson.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is holding an online public meeting to gather feedback on a plan to regulate drone us in state parks.

Members of the public can comment on appropriate guidelines for drone use (or prohibition of drones) in parks. OPRD’s “virtual open house” on the issue takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m. (Note: The date for this meeting was previously announced as Nov. 1, but OPRD discovered an internal conflict.) The meeting will be livestreamed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@oprddirectorsoffice5783/streams . Attendees who want to ask questions during the Q&A portion of the meeting must register beforehand here.

A workgroup including representatives of conservation groups (including Oregon Shores), drone users, state, and federal natural resource agencies, and OPRD staff worked to create criteria for regulating areas in state parks where drones can take-off and land. The basic approach settled upon was to develop color-coded maps indicating where drone use was allowed, prohibited, or conditional (for instance, allowed at certain times but not others). The key will be whether the criteria used to determine which areas are open to drone use are sufficient to protect resources, and whether they are accurately applied to the maps.

A public comment period extends through Dec. 29. OPRD has unveiled a website page with information about the process and three sample areas with maps developed following the classification criteria developed by the workgroup and staff, and the classification criteria.

If you aren’t testifying during the public hearing, you can provide comments by completing and sending this form or emailing more extensive remarks to oprd.publiccomment@oprd.oregon.gov.