Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-102
§480 Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction
Title 16 › CHAPTER 2 — NATIONAL FORESTS › SUBCHAPTER I — ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION › § 480
Summary
Making a national forest does not take away the state's power to make or enforce laws over people who are there, except that federal crimes in the forest can be punished by the United States. People who live in or near the forest keep their rights as citizens and must still follow their state duties.
Full Legal Text
Title 16, §480
Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The jurisdiction, both civil and criminal, over persons within national forests shall not be affected or changed by reason of their existence, except so far as the punishment of offenses against the United States therein is concerned; the intent and meaning of this provision being that the State wherein any such national forest is situated shall not, by reason of the establishment thereof, lose its jurisdiction, nor the inhabitants thereof their rights and privileges as citizens, or be absolved from their duties as citizens of the State.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification Provisions substantially in the language of this section are contained in section 12 of act Mar. 1, 1911, applicable to national forest lands acquired on the recommendation of the National Forest Reservation Commission under section 500, 515 to 519, 521, 552 and 563 of this title. “National forests” and “national forest” substituted in text for “forest reservations” and “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. § 480
Title 16, Conservation
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102