Are Drones permitted in Washington Oaks Gardens State Park?
 
Launching and/or landing a drone is prohibited within Florida State Parks except in very rare circumstances. The portion of the Florida Administrative Code that governs the operation of Florida State Parks (Chapter 62D-2.014, F.A.C.) states:

• (15) Aircraft. No person operating or responsible for any aircraft, glider, balloon, parachute or other aerial apparatus shall cause any such apparatus to take off from or land in any park except in an emergency when human life is endangered or where a designated landing facility may exist on park property.

The Florida Park Service includes drones in the category of "other aerial apparatus.” Currently, we do not have guest-accessible landing facilities in any Florida state park.

The primary reason for our very limited occasions of drone use (i.e., mainly as a tool for rescue or reviewing areas impacted by natural disaster) is because our mission as part of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection requires us to take into consideration the preservation of natural resources. 

It has been observed that nesting birds view drones as potential predators and are likely to abandon nests or avoid otherwise ideal habitat areas if drones have been regularly spotted in those locations. We do not want this to occur within our park conservation areas, which are intended to be sanctuaries for our native wildlife.