POTA Pulls the Plug on 85% of French Parks — And a Volunteer Resigns Over It

Parks on the Air has become one of the biggest growth stories in amateur radio over the last few years, but this August it found itself at the centre of a row that's got a fair chunk of the community talking.

In August 2026, the POTA board removed roughly 85% of France's park references from its database, ruling that the locations — largely ZNIEFF ecological zones — didn't meet the programme's global criteria for state or federal public land. The fallout was immediate: France's POTA mapping representative resigned in the wake of the mass deletion. [source]

What Triggered the Purge

• Eligibility mismatch — The French team had built out references using ZNIEFF areas, a French ecological zoning designation that often includes private property or land without guaranteed public access, which put them at odds with POTA's usual qualifying standards.

• Global standards, no exceptions — The POTA board's position was that references failing to meet the programme's standard criteria for public park infrastructure couldn't be grandfathered in indefinitely.

• A communication breakdown — Volunteers say they heard little from the central organisation before the references were pulled en masse, which did nothing to soften the blow.

It's the kind of story that touches a nerve well beyond France — anyone who's put time into building out park references for POTA will recognise the frustration of watching that work disappear with little warning.

POTA Board’s Response - https://q5hamradio.substack.com/p/parks-on-the-air-board-statement?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2171283&post_id=211481288&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=6dhmia&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Award Recognises Dxpeditions with Remote Operations

Two recent DXpeditions that featured remote radio operations have been recognised by the Northern California DX Foundation, which is presenting both activations with the DXcellence Award, now in its fifth year.

The criteria included the DXpedition's complexity, its impact on its "Most Wanted" ranking on ClubLog and, of course, overall performance.

The foundation's board of directors chose the KP5/NP3VI Desecheo DXpedition and the PJ6Y Youth DXpedition to Saba Island. Both adventures included remote radio operations. The KP5 operation was 100 per cent remote, as well as being solar powered. The team's media officer, Steve N2AJ, said in a press release that having the first fully solar-powered, fully remote DXpedition was a "groundbreaking achievement", adding that "advanced technology and careful planning can deliver world-class results while maintaining an exceptionally low environmental footprint." The team of operators was required to follow strict guidelines from the US Fish & Wildlife Service to ensure a minimal impact on the environment. That means no generators, no amplifiers and no traditional beam antennas.

The PJ6Y Youth DXpedition was chosen for its involvement of young operators from around the world who spent two weeks on the island of Saba. This more traditional style activation featured some first-time DXpeditioners. It was supplemented with radios operated remotely by as many as 30 young amateurs from around the world. The technically complex arrangement was considered a success on many levels, most especially as an investment in the future of amateur radio for the next generation.