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What I found interesting is the $1,000.00 fine the Park Service handed out to two people videoing in a national park without first getting a permit. A quick glimpse at the rules it seems if done without intent to monetize the video, no permit is needed. Does that mean all Youtubers with a monetized channel and patrion account fall under commercial enterprise?

https://drivinvibin.com/2020/10/23/rv-couple-fined/
 
Gringo yes. That’s what it means. You make one cent front a video you are commercial.
 
If in doubt call the Concessions office at the park you intend to visit. There are special permits for most situations. There are lots of rules if you do anything besides visit (look and leave) in all National Parks as their main directive is “to protect the resource”.
 
same with still pictures. if you plan on making money on them you must get a permit.

boiled chicken, yuk.

highdesertranger
 
Weird. Sounds like just another govt scheme to make profit off its citizens.
 
I think the fees depend on the size of the production. Personally, I can imagine being mighty ticked off if I went to my favorite desert boondock spot and found someone filming 'Fury Road' there - for free!
 
bullfrog said:
 There are lots of rules if you do anything besides visit (look and leave) in all National Parks as their main directive is “to protect the resource”.

Good point bullfrog , I  almost got into a jam at BigBendNationalPark.  You neve know if the campsites will be full when you get their at certain times of year, so my backup plan was to zone camp. You are given a zone of your choice to camp in and must be at least 1/2 mile off the road. Tent, chair bedding cooking stuff, igloo, etc. etc. that's a lot of stuff. a lot of 1/2 mile trips. I bought one of those 1 wheeled elk haulers you pull. NOPE, against the rules, you can not use anything mechanical to pack in your stuff, must pack it in on your back. The only thing you can use is a stick for balance. It is  clearly stated in the compendium which has tons of rules in it that most do not know about. All of which focus on preserving the park so the next person can find it as I did.
 
Not just National Parks... same applies to the National Forests.. commercial enterprises must get a permit to film ... or pay the fine. We ran into this in 2005 when I was camera person for the Great American Bigfoot Research Organization... kindly the local Forest Service people allowed them to pay the fee not the fine.
 
National Parks are run by Superintendents that have responsibility for the park and it’s mission and therefore are allowed to create stricter rules than the national park general rules or even totally new rules. These are contained in each parks compendium. Many times the state the park is in is allowed to enforce their laws and rules with the superintendent’s permission while other times parks may have their own rules enforced by National Park Rangers. Parks that are in more than one state may have different rules depending on where you are in the park. The compendium can change so it pays to review it before planning any activities inside the park. It truly is up to one person, the Superintendent, what you can and cannot do while inside “their” park. It pays to know before you go what unusual rules may affect your visit.
 

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