Title 16ConservationRelease 119-73not60

§430q Offenses

Title 16 › Chapter 1— NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES › Subchapter LX— NATIONAL MILITARY PARKS › § 430q

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

People may not, without permission from the Secretary of the Interior, damage, remove, or harm monuments, statues, memorials, artwork, fences, railings, or other protective or decorative things on park grounds. They also may not cut down or injure trees, shrubs, timber, battle relics, earthworks, walls, defenses, shelters, or hunt inside the park. Anyone who does one of these things and is found guilty in a U.S. court must pay a fine for each offense. The court sets the fine based on how serious the act was.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §430q

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

If any person shall, except by permission of the Secretary of the Interior, destroy, mutilate, deface, injure, or remove any monument, column, statue, memorial structure, or work of art that shall be erected or placed upon the grounds of the park by lawful authority, or shall destroy or remove any fence, railing, enclosure, or other work for the protection or ornament of said park, or any portion thereof, or shall destroy, cut, hack, bark, break down, or otherwise injure any tree, bush, or shrubbery that may be growing upon said park, or shall cut down or fell or remove any timber, battle relic, tree or trees growing or being upon said park, or hunt within the limits of the park, or shall remove or destroy any breastworks, earthworks, walls, or other defenses or shelter or any part thereof constructed by the armies formerly engaged in the battles on the lands or approaches to the park, any person so offending and found guilty thereof, before any United States magistrate judge or court, of the jurisdiction in which the offense may be committed, shall for each and every such offense forfeit and pay a fine, in the discretion of the United States magistrate judge or court, according to the aggravation of the offense.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1976—Pub. L. 94–578 struck out provisions which limited fines to not less than $5 nor more than $500.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

“United States magistrate judge” substituted for “United States magistrate” wherever appearing in text pursuant to section 321 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as a note under section 631 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. Previously, “United States magistrate” substituted for “United States commissioner” pursuant to Pub. L. 90–578. See chapter 43 (§ 631 et seq.) of Title 28.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 430q

Title 16Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60