Title 16 — ConservationRelease 119-73not60
§475 Purposes for Which National Forests May Be Established and Administered
Title 16 › Chapter 2— NATIONAL FORESTS › Subchapter I— ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION › § 475
Summary
Lands the President set aside before June 4, 1897 must stay in effect and not be suspended or canceled. Public lands set aside later as national forests should, as much as possible, be run under the same rules. National forests may only be created to protect and improve the trees, to help keep good water flow, and to provide a steady supply of timber for United States citizens. Lands that are more valuable for mining or farming than for forests should not be included.
Full Legal Text
Title 16, §475
Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
All public lands designated and reserved prior to June 4, 1897, by the President of the United States under the provisions of section 471 11 See References in Text note below. of this title, the orders for which shall be and remain in full force and effect, unsuspended and unrevoked, and all public lands that may hereafter be set aside and reserved as national forests under said section, shall be as far as practicable controlled and administered in accordance with the following provisions. No national forest shall be established, except to improve and protect the forest within the boundaries, or for the purpose of securing favorable conditions of water flows, and to furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of citizens of the United States; but it is not the purpose or intent of these provisions, or of said section, to authorize the inclusion therein of lands more valuable for the mineral therein, or for agricultural purposes, than for forest purposes.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
section 471 of this title, referred to in text, was repealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 704(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2792. Codification “National forests” and “national forest” substituted in text for “public forest reserves” and “public forest reservation”, respectively, on authority of act Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2907, 34 Stat. 1269, which provided that forest reserves shall hereafter be known as national forests.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
16 U.S.C. § 475
Title 16 — Conservation
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60