Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-102
§482k Patents Affecting Forest Lands
Title 16 › CHAPTER 2 — NATIONAL FORESTS › SUBCHAPTER I — ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION › § 482k
Summary
Starting June 10, 1949, mining patents for those lands give ownership of the mineral deposits and allow cutting mature timber only as needed to extract, remove, or process the minerals, and only if done under national‑forest management rules. The United States keeps ownership of the land surface, and any other surface use must follow Department of Agriculture rules.
Full Legal Text
Title 16, §482k
Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
On and after June 10, 1949, all patents issued under the United States mining laws affecting lands within the above-described area shall convey title to the mineral deposits within the claim, together with the right to cut and remove so much of the mature timber therefrom as may be needed in extracting and removing and beneficiation of the mineral deposits, if the timber is cut under sound principles of forest management as defined by the national-forest rules and regulations, but each patent shall reserve to the United States all title in or to the surface of the lands and products thereof, and no use of the surface of the claim or the resources therefrom not reasonably required for carrying on mining or prospecting shall be allowed except under the rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
16 U.S.C. § 482k
Title 16, Conservation
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102