A Petition Has Been Posted To Remove BASE Jumping From U.S. National Park Aerial Delivery Law

BASE jumping certainly falls into the category of extreme sports. Base jumping activists seek the unique thrill of skydiving from a fixed object but as the law reads now, they are not allowed to BASE jump in national parks. A petition has been started to rectify what they claim is the unfair application of an existing law.

The website says in part, “Humans have evolved: we fly! We are pushing away the limits of gravity, stepping off the planet and flying for minutes at a time. However, in the U.S., the policy of the National Park Service has been to group mountain flyers into a non-human category originally meant for cargo, via the ‘Aerial Delivery’ law, and ban human flight.”

According to the website, this does not stop mountain flyers in U.S. National parks but, instead, forces flyers to jump in non-optimal conditions to avoid detection by park rangers. An example of the added danger is jumping in low light. They say the threat of arrest adds an unnecessary distraction in a situation that demands full concentration, and many jumpers opt to not use their best equipment, knowing that if they are caught their gear will be confiscated.

The website goes on to claim that BASE jumpers are actually friendlier to the National Park environment than hikers by claiming that base jumpers, “…place half the wear on the trail system compared to a normal hiker and, despite common misconceptions, their flights do not place the public in any danger. More hikers/climbers die every year in Yosemite than every single BASE jumping fatality combined. There are hundreds of search and rescue calls every year without a single percentage point coming from this community.”

The website closes by saying, “It's far past time to remove BASE jumping from the U.S. National Park aerial delivery law and allow these humans to practice human flight. Please help in any way you can.”

(Image from Petition website)

FMI: Base Jumping Petition