- Joined
- Apr 28, 2015
- Messages
- 248
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- 89
I am going to Mackinac Island in a couple weeks for vacation and I wanted to bring my drone with me to take pictures.
I was not sure if drones were allowed on the island so I did some research.
Since most of the island is a state park I decided to contact the park system.
This is the email I got back.
"Jay.
In response to your question about drones, they are currently not banned in the Mackinac Island State Park.
However, it is my expectation that the Mackinac Island State Park Commission will be banning drones in the State Park (83% of the island) at their September meeting. There is increasing concern about the safety of drones around the horses and because of the number of aircraft using the Mackinac Island Airport (which is in the State Park.) As a result, I strongly suggest that you do not bring or use your drone on Mackinac Island.
You will have to contact the City of Mackinac Island Police Department to inquire about restrictions on property under City jurisdiction.
Phil Porter, Director
Mackinac State Historic Parks"
So while he is obviously not a fan of drones it is not against the rules to fly a drone in the park, which as he noted is most of the island.
So I figured I am good... but just in case I also sent a message to what I thought was the police department on the island. I went to the city page and got this email.
[email protected].
I emailed them this.
"Good afternoon!
I was just writing to double check that it is ok to fly a drone on the island.
I already contacted Mr Phil Porter of the DNR who told me that drones were allowed on state park property. Since that is about 80% of the island it would seem that I would not have any problems but I wanted to double check to make sure the city did not have any ordinances the Mr Porter was unaware of.
I do not plan to fly the drone over any city property. (my current plan is to launch it from the Grand, where I am staying, and bring it up to 400ft. At that altitude I would take some pictures and bring it back down without flying over any other areas of the island. That plan might change but I wanted to make sure everything was ok before I did anything other than that.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Jay."
and this was what I got back
"Actually, the city has an ordinance banning drone that just went into effect this year. More of a safety issue with the horses."
Thats it. It doesnt say what the ordinance is. It does not even have a tagline at the bottom saying who its from.
I sent him back this email
"Thank you for getting back to me, could you send me a link to the announcement or the details of the ordinance? I looked online and could not find anything on it."
I sent that yesterday and have not heard anything back.
Is it just me or does the email from the "chief" seem a bit shady?
I was not sure if drones were allowed on the island so I did some research.
Since most of the island is a state park I decided to contact the park system.
This is the email I got back.
"Jay.
In response to your question about drones, they are currently not banned in the Mackinac Island State Park.
However, it is my expectation that the Mackinac Island State Park Commission will be banning drones in the State Park (83% of the island) at their September meeting. There is increasing concern about the safety of drones around the horses and because of the number of aircraft using the Mackinac Island Airport (which is in the State Park.) As a result, I strongly suggest that you do not bring or use your drone on Mackinac Island.
You will have to contact the City of Mackinac Island Police Department to inquire about restrictions on property under City jurisdiction.
Phil Porter, Director
Mackinac State Historic Parks"
So while he is obviously not a fan of drones it is not against the rules to fly a drone in the park, which as he noted is most of the island.
So I figured I am good... but just in case I also sent a message to what I thought was the police department on the island. I went to the city page and got this email.
[email protected].
I emailed them this.
"Good afternoon!
I was just writing to double check that it is ok to fly a drone on the island.
I already contacted Mr Phil Porter of the DNR who told me that drones were allowed on state park property. Since that is about 80% of the island it would seem that I would not have any problems but I wanted to double check to make sure the city did not have any ordinances the Mr Porter was unaware of.
I do not plan to fly the drone over any city property. (my current plan is to launch it from the Grand, where I am staying, and bring it up to 400ft. At that altitude I would take some pictures and bring it back down without flying over any other areas of the island. That plan might change but I wanted to make sure everything was ok before I did anything other than that.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Jay."
and this was what I got back
"Actually, the city has an ordinance banning drone that just went into effect this year. More of a safety issue with the horses."
Thats it. It doesnt say what the ordinance is. It does not even have a tagline at the bottom saying who its from.
I sent him back this email
"Thank you for getting back to me, could you send me a link to the announcement or the details of the ordinance? I looked online and could not find anything on it."
I sent that yesterday and have not heard anything back.
Is it just me or does the email from the "chief" seem a bit shady?