It was the otherwise noted part, as it was a commercial shoot (3 people) and those require a permit, drone or still/video from the ground. Here:
Sequoia National Forest - Event/Commercial Permits Their absurdity is that they also require permits from anyone else they deal with before they will approve yours, like the county roads department who owns the roadway within the forest for you to park your car at. That cost was $1,600 for three hours where anyone else could park there for a $5 Adventure Pass. Then the insurance, and what county controls the business license too. It's a costly mess!
Our camera club ran into the same NSF nonsense when we tried to get permission (permit) for the club to hold a photo shoot at some grove. They told use they would lock their restrooms up and our group of 8-12 would need to have porta-potties hauled in, then pumped out before hauling out. If you request anything from them, it's gonna cost you a lot. Another person at their office wanted some event at a campground and they told him "No, as they were having their own event there at the time he wanted to do his."
For single or personal use it's generally no issue, but it really becomes a judgement call by the ranger too. My younger sister and her husband are rangers and they deny a lot of stuff as "It stresses the wildlife." They have a lot of regulations to pull out in order to deny stuff.
Dealing with the government is a big ugh!