Scott Pham, director of the Missouri Drone Journalism Program, speaks with Rep. Casey Guernsey at an early hearing for HB 46 on February 5, 2013. Photo by Jaime Cooke.

The Missouri Drone Journalism Program has been aware of HB 46 since it was introduced by Rep. Casey Guernsey early this year.  Today, a version of the bill has gained first round approval from the Missouri House and now the Associated Press is inaccurately  reporting that it prevents journalists from using drones.

The bill explicitly calls out journalists, but the text of the bill actually allows for the use of drones over land where the property owner has given permission:

 3. No person, group of persons, entity, or organization, including, but not limited to, journalists, reporters, or news organizations, shall use a drone or other unmanned aircraft to conduct surveillance of any individual or property owned by an individual or business without the consent of that individual or property owner.

We have been operating under similar restrictions since the Program began and we do not believe this bill will shut us down or prevent us from pursuing more stories.

We are, however, deeply concerned with the bill and its implications for journalism as a whole.

Read the official text of HB 46 here. 

This past Friday afternoon, some of the journalism students working on the project traveled over to the Prairie Fork Conservation Area near Williamsburg, Missouri to follow up on a possible story idea. Prairie Fork is an example of one of the few existing prairie lands in Missouri, and is part of an ongoing project by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to convert and maintain these lands back to their natural prairie state. The purpose of the visit was to follow up on a story idea that focused on the MDC’s use of controlled fires to preserve and maintain the prairie lands. Usually referred to as an “prairie burn,” this process involves igniting man-made fires to help clear the land as well as provide nutrients, encourages biodiversity and seed development and reduces shrubbery growth.

This is where the Missouri Drone Journalism Program comes in.

In an attempt to use drones in new and emerging ways, the program is hoping to use several drones to capture aerial video footage of the prairie burn while it is in progress and utilize that footage as part of a multimedia story about prairie burns in mid-Missouri. The hope is to capture this prairie burn from angles that wouldn’t be possible using traditional methods, and to eventually have the story published on KBIA.

Below is a short clip of Jeff Demand, wildlife management biologist from the MDC, explaining how a prairie burns work, and how members of the MDC plan to direct the prairie burn.