National Park Service Drone Documents
| Tracking # |
NPS-2013-00276 |
| Submitted | Jan. 30, 2013 |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Drone Watch
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
1. any requests for proposals, proposals submitted by vendors, contracts, budgets or cost allocations for the purchase, research of and/or use of aerial drones, UAs, UAVs, and UASs (hereinafter “drones”);
2. any policies, guidelines, manuals and/or instructions on institutional use of drones, including on the legal process required (such as a warrant or court order), if any, before operating a drone;
3. any departmental records concerning this institution's use of and/or research of drones now or plans to use drones in the future including:
a. the types of investigations or instances in which this department is using or plans to use drones, or how it plans to support, manage or oversee the usage of drones by another department or office;
b. policies, guidelines, manuals and/or instructions on storage requirements or procedures for video or static images obtained through use of drones, including retention times;
c. the altitude at which drones can or do fly;
d. drones’ ability to carry weapons.
I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.
In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Shawn Musgrave
From: Charis Wilson
Mr. Mulligan,
We have received your FOIA request and have assigned it tracking number NPS-2013-00276. All future correspondence regarding this request should reference this number. Because we will need to search multiple NPS offices, including records held by the Washington Visitor and Resource Protection (VRP) and regional law enforcement offices, as well as checking with the US Park Police staff, we will be taking a ten work-day extension to respond to your request. You should therefore expect our response by March 14, 2013. In the meantime, feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.
Sincerely,
C.
____________________
Ms. Charis Wilson, MLS, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA
"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville
"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)
"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 30, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thank you for your help.
From: Charis Wilson
Mr. Musgrave,
I apologize, I thought I had notified you of your tracking number and our expected response date. However, when I just checked again I didn't find anything in my sent messages folder. I apologize for that inadvertent administrative error. Your request was assigned tracking number NPS-2013-00276 and in accordance with 43 CFR 2.15(c)(3), your request was placed into our complex processing queue, which means that we expect it to take between twenty-one and sixty days to complete. While I hope to have our response out by March 15, 2013, it could take until April 26, 2013. We are currently searching for responsive records in our law enforcement and natural resources divisions.
Please feel free to contact me, in the meantime, with any questions you may have.
C.
____________________
Ms. Charis Wilson, MLS, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA
"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville
"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)
"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie
From: Charis Wilson
Mr. Musgrave,
I've heard back from one of the offices that is searching for responsive records and they are still working to locate records responsive to Items 1 and 3. However, in regards to Item 2, I've been informed that:
Reference Manual (RM-60) Aviation Management Chapter 4 contains several references to UAS, basically letting employees know that they are considered aircraft by FAA and Departmental Manual definition and therefore subject to similar provisions for acquisition, disposal and training of personnel. You can view a copy of that manual here: http://www.nps.gov/applications/fire/aviation/about/policy.cfm.
Regarding your request for information related to planned or potential uses of drones, potential uses for drones include archeological site monitoring, vegetation mapping, and search and rescue (SAR).
Regarding your request for records related to the retention of records obtained through the use of drones. No information specifically related to the retention of images or video obtained through the use of drones was located. You can however view the Director's Order (11D) related to records management in general. http://www.nps.gov/policy/DOrders/DO-11D.pdf I am also attaching a copy of our NPS Records Retention Schedule.
Regarding your request for records related the altitude at which drones can fly and their weapon carrying capacity. No information responsive to your request was located.
Sincerely,
C.
____________________
Ms. Charis Wilson, MLS, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA
"What we find changes who we become." - Peter Morville
"The historian works with records...there is no substitute for records: no records, no history." - Paraphrasing Langlois & Seignobos (1903)
"Let us be guardians, not gardeners" - Unknown, From 1963 Living Wilderness editorial - Attributed to Adolph Murie
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 30, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #NPS-2013-00276.
Thank you for your help.
From: United States Department of the Interior NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
United States Department of the Interior
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
P.O. Box 25287
Denver, Colorado 80225-0287
April 5, 2013
A7221 (2550)
Shawn Musgrave
MuckRock News – Dept MR 2634
PO Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819
Dear Musgrave:
Reference: Unmanned Aircraft
Subject: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request NPS-2013-00276
This letter is our final response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated January 30, 2013, in which you requested a variety of records related to aerial drones including:
1. any requests for proposals, proposals submitted by vendors, contracts, budgets or cost allocations for the purchase, research of and/or use of aerial drones, UAs, UAVs, and UASs (hereinafter “drones”);
2. any policies, guidelines, manuals and/or instructions on institutional use of drones, including on the legal process required (such as a warrant or court order), if any, before operating a drone;
3. any departmental records concerning this institution's use of and/or research of drones now or plans to use drones in the future including:
a. the types of investigations or instances in which this department is using or plans to use drones, or how it plans to support, manage or oversee the usage of drones by another department or office;
b. policies, guidelines, manuals and/or instructions on storage requirements or procedures for video or static images obtained through use of drones, including retention times;
c. the altitude at which drones can or do fly;
d. drones’ ability to carry weapons.
In combination with our March 3, 2013, interim response, this response constitutes a full grant of all information we located in our files, which is responsive to your request. I have placed the final eight documents, totaling 19 pages of material, all of which is responsive to Item 1 of your request, on our external FTP site.
The site will require you to register as a user, using the e-mail address that this message is being sent to. Once you have registered you will be able to download the materials, all of which are in PDF format, by clicking on the link below. Should you experience any difficulty using the FTP site, please make sure your browser is set up to work with the FTP protocol.
Should you consider this FULL GRANT response to be in error or a denial of your request, you have the right to appeal. You may file an appeal by writing to:
Freedom of Information Act Appeals Officer
Office of the Solicitor
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
MS-6556-MIB,
Washington, D.C. 20240
foia.appeals@sol.doi.gov
Your appeal must be received no later than 30 workdays after the date of this final response. The appeal should be marked, both on the envelope and the face of the appeal letter, with the legend "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPEAL." Your appeal should be accompanied by a copy of your original request and copies of all correspondence between yourself and the National Park Service related to this request, along with any information you have which leads you to believe our response to be in error. Note, any appeal received after 5 p.m. EST will be considered to have been received on the next business day.
Additionally, because the National Park Service creates and maintains law enforcement records, we are required by the Department of Justice to provide the following information, even though it may or may not apply to your specific request. Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. 552(c) (2006 & Supp. IV 2010). This response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard notification that we are required to give all our requesters and should not be taken as an indication that excluded records do, or do not, exist.
Should you have any further questions regarding this request, please feel free to contact me. I can be reached at the address above or by phone at 303-969-2959.
Sincerely,
C.
____________________
Ms. Charis Wilson, MLS, CRM
NPS FOIA Officer
12795 W. Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
303-969-2959
Fax: 303-969-2557
1-855-NPS-FOIA
-
Responsive Documents
Files
pages