Flying Over U.S. National Parks to Be Limited by New Rules

New regulations in the U.S. will limit where tourist flights in planes and helicopters can fly around national parks and monuments. Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Badlands National Park will have some of the strictest rules on flying.

At Mount Rushmore and Badlands, both in South Dakota, commercial air tours will be banned within a one-half mile of the boundaries of these sites, National Parks Service (NPS) shared in a press release. The ban is slated to take effect in April 2024.

“Prohibiting commercial air tours protects the cultural and spiritual significance of these lands to Tribes, and is reflective of the experience desired by visitors,” Eric Veach, superintendent of Badlands National Park, said in a statement.

The regulations address complaints from visitors to the parks, who feel disturbed by the noise of tourist flights. These new rules will be rolled out for almost two dozen national parks and monuments.

The rules follow a federal appeals court finding from 2020 that stated that NPS and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have not enforced the National Parks Air Tour Management Act of 2000, The Associated Press reported. Following that ruling, NPS and FAA created the Overflights Program and set a schedule for creating and implementing commercial air tour regulations.

“Air Tour Management Plans establish conditions for conducting air tours, including specific routes, altitudes, number of flights, type of aircraft, hours of operations, and reporting requirements. Air Tour Management Plans must protect park resources and visitor use without compromising aviation safety or the nation’s air traffic control system,” NPS shared on its website.

In addition to the newly announced management plans for Mount Rushmore and Badlands, NPS and FAA have established completed plans or voluntary agreements at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Rainbow Bridge National Recreation Area, Statue of Liberty National Monument, Governors Island National Monument, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Point Reyes National Seashore, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park, Glacier National Park, Death Valley National Park, Olympic National Park and Mount Rainier National Park. Rules for additional sites are in the works.

The move has been controversial, though, prompting a congressional oversight hearing on the issue for Dec. 5. While some people are concerned about the noise pollution from commercial air tours and how it impacts local Indigenous communities and site visitors, others in the industry said they are concerned with how it will impact business and access to the parks for people with limited mobility.

A previous proposal to amend a bill on FAA reauthorization included requirements for the FAA to consider the economics of such commercial air tours failed earlier this year, The Associated Press reported. 

“People go to Arches, people go to Hawaii to hear the sights and sounds of these places,” Kristen Brengel of the National Parks Conservation Association told The Associated Press. “It’s so utterly clear that the vast majority of people who are going to these parks aren’t going to hear the sounds of helicopters over their heads.”