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1 1 (March 4, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govecms0001 and id is 1 raw text is: UpdatedMarch4, 2021 Commercial Filming and Photography on Federal Lands Commercial fihnmakers, videographers, and photographers often seek to use federal lands as locations for their works. Historically, the major federal land management agencies- the Bureau of Land Management(BLM), National Park Service (NPS), and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture (USDA)- did not share a consistent approach to regulating commercial filming and photography on their lands. A 2000 law, P.L. 106-206 (codified at 16 U.S.C. 4601-6d and 54 U.S.C. § 100905), directed the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to require permits and develop a consis tent fee structure for commercialfilming and some types of photography on federallands. Pursuant to the law, the agencies have established permitting procedures and are currently in the process of standardizing fees. Legislation in the 116th Congress would have altered requirements for the agencies' fee schedules and permits. DOI and USDA are in the process of standardizing fees for commercial filmmaking and photography on federal lands, which have served as locations for many well- known films such as Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, and The Hunger Games. Statutory Requirements for Permits and Fees Under P.L. 106-206, the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture mustrequire permits and establishreasonable fees forcommercial filming on federallands. The fees must take into account (1) the number of days of filming, (2) the size of the film crew, (3) the amount and type ofequipnrent and (4) other factors that the Secretaries deemappropriate. The fees must provide a fair return (undefmedin the law) to the nation for the activity. In addition to fees, the Secretaries mustrecover any adminis trative, personnel, or other costs incurred by the agencies during filming. Permits are not to be is sued if the activity would damage resources, unreasonably disrupt public use and enjoyment of a site, or pose health andsafety risks. Still photography requires a permit or fee only if it is in an area that is not ordinarily open to thepublic, if additional administrative costs are likely, or if models orprops other than the site's ownresources are used. Fees and costs collected under P.L. 106-206 are to be available for use by the collecting agencies without further appropriation. The majority of funds are retained at the site at which they were collected, and the fees may be used for purposes such as backlogged rep air and maintenance projects, interpretation, signage, facility enhancement' resource preservation, fee collection, and law enforcement. Agency Regulations Department ofthe Interior. In August 2013, DOI issued a final rule to bring three agencies-BLM, NPS, and FWS- into compliance with P.L. 106-206 (78 Federal Register 52087, modifying regulations at 36 C.F.R Part 5, 43 C.F.R. Part 5, and 50 C.F.R. Part 27, respectively). In subsequent years-mostrecently in January 2018 (83 Federal Register 1664)-the Bureau of Reclamation announced its intent to amend its regulations to accord with those of the other DOI agencies. Special filming and photography restrictions for Indian lands administeredby DOI's Bureau of Indian Affairs (43 C.F.R Part 5, Subpart B) remain unchanged. The DOI regulations define commercial filming and still photography consistently for BLM, NPS, and FWS and clarify which activities require a permit, in accordance with P.L. 106-206. The regulations state conditions under which a filming or photography permit may be denied, such as if the activity would cause resource damage, unreasonably disrupt public use, pose health or s afetyrisks, or violate the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131-1136) or other applicable laws or regulations. Permit applications are to be processed in a timely manner, and permit denials may be appealed to higher levels ofDOI management. The regulations also discuss the more limited circumstances in which a permit is required for news -gathering activities (defined as filming, videography, and stillphotography carried out by a representativeof the news media). Among other conditions, such a permit is required only if obtainingit would not interfere with the ability to gather the news. Permit holders are responsible for two types of payments: a locationfee that provides a fair return to the nation for the use of federalland and repayment of costs incurred by the government in processing the request and administering the permit. The permit holder also has liability, indemnification, and bonding requirements. Forest Service. FS follows regulations for commercial filming and photography permits (36 C.F.R. 251) which were in place prior to passage of P.L. 106-206. FS collaborated with DOI on a new fee s chedule proposed in 2013 (see below). Also, in 2014, FS proposed but did not finalize a directive to establish additional criteria for commercial filming and photography in congressionally designated wilderness areas (79 FederalRegister52626). For example, such activity would have had to be focused primarily on disseminating information about wilderness, would have had to preserve the area's wilderness character as defined in the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131(c)), and would have had to be wilderness-dependent (unable to be carried out elsewhere). Some Members of Congress and other s takeholders objected to the proposed FS directive, especially questioning whether it would infringe on the First Amendment rights ofnewsreporters. FSstatedthat https://crsrept

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