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Posted by Ballpark Frank (24.237.94.196) on 12:47:48 07/03/14

In Reply to: What's all the hub-bub about.... posted by 46er

46er,

Starting with the disclaimer that I have not seen James Yule's Facebook post, since I refuse to participate in social media, I would say that my perusal of what evidence I have seen points to the possibility of a bureaucratic "smoking gun" being used as a cudgel in what was likely a low level disagreement, a bit like someone bringing a howitzer to a mudball fight.

I feel more comfortable saying that because I have seen the NPS in Yellowstone do this before. I myself was the subject of such behavior many years ago. We must remember that the NPS is the progeny of the U.S. Army, and that it has certain powers in certain areas that are fairly dictatorial. (I served in the military, and understand the need for the sweeping powers granted military leaders in times of war. I get a bit chafed at how certain individuals in the NPS wield similar powers in the administration of their jobs.)

Again, I am only reacting to what I have seen on this page, which includes the photo James took, with the cartoonlike insertion of the bear's pleading to stop the cracker bombing.

I remember years ago, when the issue of the rewritten rules about commercial film permits surfaced. I did not pursue my own little investigation of the details. When I heard/read that it only pertained to commercial enterprises, I stopped worrying about it. Now, with this latest incident, I have taken a look at the permitting documents and regulations. (I also did a quick survey of other national parks in the west. Some don't have a permit system for filming. Others have systems that are somewhat dissimilar from Yellowstone's.) What bothers me is the potential for abuse and the unequal application of the law.

I'm bothered that graduate students in MSU's nature film program have to acquire a permit the same way Spielberg would have to if he were shooting a full length feature film in Yellowstone. My alluding to the Asian visitor's penchant for placing family and friends in photos of Yellowstone's natural resources was a sarcastic slam at the potential ambiguity of what constitutes a "model". If I'm a ranger having a bad day, and I feel like harassing someone, I could bust an Asian visitor for this sort of activity.

Where the lines really start blurring is the concept of what constitutes "commercial activity". When Buck first posted a video of Gabe and Garrett on YouTube, was that commercial activity? I think not. How about these days, when he is making a decent living off such videos? Pretty obvious answer. Now, let's take the stereotypical park visitor, who has a digital camera of one sort or another, and it has video capability. They just happen to be in the right spot at the right time, and they capture some incredible footage. They return home to the Midwest or Deep South. The following Christmas, they are showing videos from their vacation, and someone suggests they post the incredible footage on YouTube. They do so, and it goes viral. Eventually, they get paid some money for it. Are they now subject to an ex post facto commercial filming permit fee in Yellowstone? Have they broken a law?

My argument is that the NPS walked into the swamp with this policy, and they are going to find themselves up to their organizational rear in alligators. What I suspect is going to happen over time is that either through a test case in the courts or administrative fiat from above, this policy will be fine-tuned to allow all those citizens who pay taxes to fund the Department of the Interior and THEIR national parks to continue filming in Yellowstone without harassment, while obviously commercial interests will be subject to the permit process.

From my perspective, the humans within the NPS have proven to suffer from the same frailties we all possess. It has to do with the unequal application of the law or policies.

Ballpark



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