The National Park Service issued a warning to visitors and potential amateur pilots that drone aircrafts are "prohibited within park boundaries" of Yosemite National Park, NBC reported.
In recent years, the park has experienced an increase in visitors using drones inside the park to film climbers and views above the treetops in the national park.
With several videos on YouTube, like the small "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles," drones are being used to capture scenery, Los Angeles Times reported.
An increase in the use of this technology is due to the recent drop in price and accessibility of small "personal" drone aircrafts. Amateurs and hobbyists can outfit the devices with small cameras, such as GoPros, getting high definition aerial photographs for around $1,000.
"Drones can be extremely noisy," wrote the Park Service, "and can impact the natural soundscape."
According to NBC, the service referred to a section of the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR 2.17, which reads, "delivering or retrieving a person or object by parachute, helicopter, or other airborne means, except in emergencies involving public safety or serious property loss, or pursuant to the terms and conditions of a permit" is illegal.
"Officials business of the Federal government" and emergency rescues were exempt from the law. Fire fighting has been helped by the use of actual military drones in the past.
The Park Service cited several negative impacts that drones have on Yosemite, which ranged from making an "impact the natural soundscape," to "creating an environment that is not conducive to wilderness travel," Salon reported.
"The use of drones also interferes with emergency rescue operations and can cause confusion and distraction for rescue personnel and other parties involved in the rescue operation," said a statement from the Park Service. "Additionally, drones can have negative impacts on wildlife nearby the area of use, especially sensitive nesting peregrine falcons on cliff walls."
The Federal Aviation Administration has not yet drafted full regulations for the domestic use of drones and is not expected to until the fall of 2015. And this year, a federal judge ruled that the FAA doesn't even have the authority to regulate hobbyist aircraft.
