Lightweight camera drones have become one of the most popular ways for visitors to Canada's parks to capture the scenery, and on a busy summer weekend a dozen or more may be seen buzzing above a single lookout. While the debate continues over whether these devices open up breathtaking new views or intrude on a quiet wilderness, many park staff are left wondering how to manage the skies above their trails.

Owen Beaumont, a warden at Ravensgate Provincial Park, recently noticed that several visitors were launching drones close to a cliff where falcons were nesting, sending the birds wheeling into the air. Uncertain how to proceed, Beaumont raised the issue at a staff meeting, discovered that colleagues at other parks faced the identical dilemma, and now the parks service is conferring about whether to set clear limits on where and when drones may be flown.