Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-73not60

§482n–1 Cutting of Timber Within Forest; Reservation of Patent Rights

Title 16 › Chapter 2— NATIONAL FORESTS › Subchapter I— ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION › § 482n–1

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Starting May 24, 1949, land patents given under U.S. mining laws for those lands give the owner the mineral deposits and the right to cut and remove mature timber needed to get and process those minerals, as long as the timber is cut under national forest rules for sound forest care. The United States keeps ownership of the land surface and what grows on it. No surface use beyond what is reasonably needed for mining or prospecting is allowed unless the Department of Agriculture’s rules allow it.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §482n–1

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

On and after May 24, 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. § 482n–1

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60