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1 1 (December 1, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejop0001 and id is 1 raw text is: *Con gress&ona R B earth Service Informfing Ih legisIlive cI bat £since 1914 Updated December 1, 2022 Commercial Filming and Photography on Federal Lands Commercial filmmakers, videographers, and photographers often seek to use federal lands as locations for their works. Historically, federal land management agencies did not share a consistent approach to regulating commercial filming and photography on their lands. In 2000, 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 consistent fee structure for commercial filming and some types of photography on federal lands. Pursuant to the law, the agencies have established permitting procedures and have taken steps toward standardizing fees. Legislation introduced in recent years sought to alter requirements for the agencies' fee schedules and permits. The Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture are required by law to establish reasonable 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 Permnits and Fees Under P.L. 106-206, the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture must require permits and establish reasonable fees for commercial filming on federal lands. 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 of equipment, and (4) other factors that the Secretaries deem appropriate. The fees must provide a fair return (undefined in the law) to the United States for the activity. In addition to fees, the Secretaries must recover any administrative, personnel, or other costs incurred by the agencies during filming. Permits are not to be issued if the activity would damage resources, unreasonably disrupt public use and enjoyment of a site, or pose health and safety risks. Still photography requires a permit or fee only if it is in an area that is not ordinarily open to the public, if additional administrative costs are likely, or if models or props other than the site's own resources are used. Fees and costs collected under P.L. 106-206 are available for use by the collecting agencies without further appropriation. The majority of funds are retained at the site at which they were collected. The fees have been used for purposes such as backlogged repair and maintenance projects, interpretation, signage, facility enhancement, resource preservation, fee collection, and law enforcement. Agency Regulations Department of the Interior. In August 2013, the Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a final rule pursuant to P.L. 106-206 focused on three of its agencies- the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) (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). The regulations also left intact long-standing special filming and photography restrictions for Indian lands administered by DOI's Bureau of Indian Affairs (43 C.F.R. Part 5, Subpart B). In January 2018, the Bureau of Reclamation announced its intent to amend its regulations to accord with those of the other DOI agencies (83 Federal Register 1664) but has not provided additional updates to the status of this process. The 2013 DOI regulations define commercial filming and still photography consistently for BLM, NPS, and FWS and clarify which activities require a permit. 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 safety risks, 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 of DOI management. The regulations also discuss the more limited circumstances in which a permit is required for news-gathering activities (defined as filming, videography, and still photography carried out by a representative of the news media). Among other conditions, such a permit is required only if obtaining it would not interfere with the ability to gather the news. Permit holders are responsible for two types of payments: a location fee that provides a fair return (undefined in regulations) to the United States for the use of federal land and repayment of costs incurred by the government in processing the request and administering the permit. The permit holder also must meet liability, indemnification, and bonding requirements. Forest Service. The U.S. Forest Service (FS) uses general special-use regulations in place prior to P.L. 106-206 for authorizing commercial filming and photography permits (36 C.F.R. Part 251) on agency lands. These regulations establish application procedures, fees, and other requirements for a wide range of commercial and noncommercial uses. In amending these regulations in 2004, FS defined commercialfilming but did not include specific permitting requirements for uses that meet this definition. In 2014, FS proposed, but in 2019 withdrew, a directive to establish additional criteria for commercial filming and photography in congressionally designated wilderness areas (79 Federal Register 52626; (84 Federal Register 47443).

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