US Senate Passes Bill That Makes it Easier for Photographers to Film in National Parks

Grand Teton National Park

The U.S. Senate passed a bill that makes it easier to film in national parks and eliminates the need for photographers and videographers to secure permits.

On Friday, the Senate passed the EXPLORE act which will do away with requirements for permits for all “commercial” photography and filming in National Parks. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the EXPLORE act into law.

The bill comes one day after photographers Alexander Rienzie and Connor Burkesmith filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service (NPS) claiming that these filming permit requirements violate First Amendment rights.

Currently, filmmakers must obtain a permit and pay a fee if they intend to later profit from their footage in national parks, even if they are using the same handheld camera or phone that a tourist would use.

Permits are routinely denied for arbitrary and unpredictable reasons, making it difficult for people like documentary filmmakers, press photographers, and wedding videographers to earn a living.

According to a press release by free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the EXPLORE Act will no longer require photographers or videographers to get filming permits because they may be paid for the footage or images.

According to FIRE, as long as filming takes place where the public is already allowed, doesn’t harm or otherwise impact park resources or visitors, and involves fewer than six people, no permit will be necessary.

Furthermore, no permit is required simply because the filmmaker intends to make a profit.

Moreover, if an activity is already allowed in a national park, no permit to film it is required. If the NPS has already permitted an activity, such as for a wedding, no additional permit to film it will be required.

‘Fantastic News for Filmmakers’

Last week, photographers Rienzie and Burkesmith filed a lawsuit against the NPS with the aim of overturning its “unconstitutional permit-and-fee scheme that charges Americans for the right to film in public spaces.”

Alexander Rienzie and Connor Burkesmith on the summit of Grand Teton.

Rienzie and Burkesmith had applied for a permit so they could film Michelino Sunseri’s attempt to break the record for the fastest climb up the Grand Teton in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming in September. However, the NPS denied the pair’s permit and pocketed the non-refundable $325 application regardless.

The photographers decided to film Sunseri’s feat anyway and ended up being investigated by NPS and Grand Teton National Park. The NPS suggested that the photographers could still face criminal charges if they ever sell or use their footage.

Rienzie and Burkesmith celebrated the news of the EXPLORE act in a statement.

“This is fantastic news not just for Connor and I, but for all the outdoor filmmakers who struggled to navigate the outdated and arbitrary permit system,” Rienzie says.

“We called on Congress to act, and they listened. We’re deeply grateful for the legislators on both sides of the aisle that stood up for free speech and the rights of Americans across the country.”

 
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos and center photo by Connor Burkesmith.