Summary

Allows federal, state, local, and Tribal agencies to operate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) inside designated wilderness, potential wilderness, and wilderness study areas for specific purposes: environmental monitoring and research (including harmful algal blooms and invasive species), law enforcement and search and rescue (including U.S. Customs and Border Protection), and monitoring the effects of a natural disaster. The change is a single amendment to the Wilderness Act that adds these uses and references existing statutory definitions for “natural disaster” and “unmanned aircraft system.”

Key Points

• Permits Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies to operate unmanned aircraft systems in designated wilderness, potential wilderness, and wilderness study areas.
• Authorizes UAS use for environmental monitoring and research, including harmful algal blooms and invasive species detection.
• Authorizes UAS use for law enforcement and search-and-rescue operations, explicitly including U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
• Allows UAS operations to monitor effects of natural disasters, using existing statutory definitions of “natural disaster.”
• The change is a single addition to the Wilderness Act; it does not include new funding or detailed operational safeguards.
• Cross-references existing statutory definitions for “unmanned aircraft system” and “natural disaster,” tying those meanings into this authority.
• Leaves implementation details—privacy protections, wildlife disturbance mitigation, interagency coordination—to agencies or later rules.
• Expands statutory exceptions to traditional wilderness protections by authorizing technology use inside protected areas for specific public purposes.

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