来源：《洛杉矶时报》
原文刊登日期：2021年6月10日
In case you thought drone crashes in sensitive environmental habitats were a rarity, get this: The drone that fell to ground at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, driving off 3,000 terns from their nests on the sand, was actually the second to do so in 24 hours. The first one scattered a different group of terns and plovers, but they returned. Not so the second time. They left behind more than 1,500 eggs that will never hatch.
如果你认为无人机在敏感环境栖息地坠毁的情况很罕见，那么看看这个：一架无人机在Bolsa-Chica生态保护区坠落，将3000只燕鸥驱离了沙地上的巢穴，实际上是24小时内第二架坠落的无人机。第一次坠毁惊散了另一群燕鸥和珩鸟，但它们还是回来了。但第二次就没这么幸运了，它们留下了超过1500只永远不会孵化的蛋。
It’s infuriating that some people think they are the exception to the rule of not endangering wildlife. Drones aren’t allowed at Bolsa Chica, a successfully restored wetlands in California and a key stop for migratory birds. Drones aren’t the only problem confronting the birds of Bolsa Chica. Bikers wheel through forbidden territory and hikers take their dogs. All have been a threat to the birds and other wildlife of Bolsa Chica, and all are banned there.
令人愤怒的是，有些人认为他们是不危害野生动物规则的例外。在Bolsa-Chica，无人机是不被允许的。Bolsa-Chica是加州一个成功恢复的湿地，也是候鸟的重要停飞地。无人机并不是Bolsa-Chica鸟类面临的唯一问题。骑自行车的人穿过禁区，徒步旅行者带着他们的狗。所有这些都对Bolsa-Chica的鸟类和其他野生动物构成了威胁，所有这些在Bolsa-Chica都是被禁止的。
Enforcement of rules at parks and other nature spots has always been weak. It’s not easy to cover networks of trails, the parks are understaffed, and the fines are too low to be a real deterrent.
公园和其他自然景点的执法一直很薄弱。要覆盖步道网络并不容易，公园人手不足，罚款太少，根本无法真正起到威慑作用。
But at least one part of this will get easier in the future. Starting in 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration will require drones to broadcast identification codes that could be picked up by anyone with a smartphone. This means that rangers and other law enforcement will be able to readily find out who owns an offending drone even if that person is operating it from outside the park boundaries. With the right software, private citizens would be able to get the identification number and turn it over to authorities. That would help make up for the shortage of policing at parks and wilderness areas.
但至少其中一部分在未来会变得更容易。从2022年开始，美国联邦航空管理局将要求无人机广播可被任何智能手机用户接收的识别码。这意味着护林员和其他执法人员将能够很容易地找到违规无人机的所有人，即使这个人是在公园边界之外操作。有了对应的软件，普通公民就能获得识别码，并将其移交给有关部门。这将有助于弥补公园和荒野地区警力短缺的问题。
That’s not enough, though. The patchwork of rules governing drone flight is confusing to drone hobbyists and the general public. Drones are allowed in state parks except where they aren’t for specific reasons, such as protecting endangered species.
但这还不够。监管无人机飞行的各种规则让无人机爱好者和普通公众感到困惑。除保护濒危物种等特殊原因之外，无人机允许进入州立公园。
Our national parks and forests ban drones from taking off or landing within their borders; California should do the same in all of its state parks and wildlife areas, and counties should follow suit for the wilderness parks they run. Exceptions could be made for search and rescue operations, environmental and wildlife surveillance and even occasional filmmaking, with permits issued for these.
美国的国家公园和森林禁止无人机在其辖区内起飞或降落；加州应该在所有的州立公园和野生动物保护区采取同样的措施，各县也应该效仿管理其经营的荒野公园。搜救行动、环境和野生动物监测，甚至偶尔拍摄电影，只要有许可证，都可以例外。
Why not just bar them from flying over parks? That’s the FAA’s jurisdiction, and so far it seems to be concerned only with the safety risks posed by drones in the air.
为什么不直接禁止无人机在公园上空飞行呢？这是联邦航空局的管辖范围，到目前为止，它似乎只关心无人机在空中造成的安全风险。
Authorities should make the rules as clear and simple as possible, put up signs telling citizens how to report illegal drone use, and increase the fines for violations — they now tend to be around $125, which has proven not to be enough of a deterrent.
有关部门应该让规定尽可能的清晰和简单，张贴告示告诉公民如何举报非法使用无人机，并增加违规罚款——现在的罚款往往在125美元左右，事实证明，这还不足以起到威慑作用。
Once word gets around that people can and will be caught and face real consequences, problems should ease up. Sadly, it’s too late now for the 1,500-plus eggs lying unhatched on the ground at Bolsa Chica.
一旦消息传开，人们会被抓住并面临真正的后果，问题就应该得到缓解。不幸的是，对于Bolsa-Chica地上的1500多只未孵化的蛋来说，一切都太晚了。