← Back to Malheur National Forest

Drone Rules for Malheur National Forest

Grant County, Oregon (OR) • United States
Malheur National Forest, Oregon, USA
Lat: 44.1215 • Lng: -118.839
Ground Not fully verified Last updated: May 30, 2026
Summary
Edit rules/place details on map

USFS Malheur NF in southeastern Oregon is remote high-desert forest. Strawberry Mountain Wilderness bans drones; the isolation means operator self-rescue in case of crash is a real safety concern.

Drone Rules - Malheur NF, Oregon

Strawberry Mountain Wilderness (68,700 acres) bans drones; isolation and lack of cell coverage require pre-flight offline map loading.

Airspace / Site Context

  • Located in Grant County, Oregon; John Day is the nearest town (30 NM west)
  • John Day Airport (JDA) Class G; Burns Municipal (BNO) is ~50 NM south
  • High-desert weather: afternoon thunderstorms July-August and winter icing from October onward

Key Rules

  • Download offline USFS boundary maps -- no cell service in Strawberry Mountain area
  • USFS Special Use Permit required for commercial photography
  • Sage-grouse lek sites are present in the forest; spring flights (March-May) near lek areas disturb breeding displays

Source

Map is not loaded yet
Load the map only when you need to view the rule outline.
This shows the latest mapped outline for this rules page. Click a shape to view its note when available.
Rule sources
Parent Rule Pages