§ 559. — Arrests by employees of Forest Service for violations of laws and regulations.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC559]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 3--FORESTS; FOREST SERVICE; REFORESTATION; MANAGEMENT
SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 559. Arrests by employees of Forest Service for violations
of laws and regulations
All persons employed in the Forest Service of the United States
shall have authority to make arrests for the violation of the laws and
regulations relating to the national forests, and any person so arrested
shall be taken before the nearest United States magistrate judge, within
whose jurisdiction the forest is located, for trial; and upon sworn
information by any competent person any United States magistrate judge
in the proper jurisdiction shall issue process for the arrest of any
person charged with the violation of said laws and regulations; but
nothing herein contained shall be construed as preventing the arrest by
any officer of the United States, without process, of any person taken
in the act of violating said laws and regulations.
(Mar. 3, 1905, ch. 1405, 33 Stat. 873; Pub. L. 90-578, title IV,
Sec. 402(b)(2), Oct. 17, 1968, 82 Stat. 1118; Pub. L. 91-383,
Sec. 10(a)(2), Aug. 18, 1970, as added Pub. L. 94-458, Sec. 2, Oct. 7,
1976, 90 Stat. 1941; Pub. L. 101-650, title III, Sec. 321, Dec. 1, 1990,
104 Stat. 5117.)
Codification
``Forest Service of the United States'' substituted for ``forest
reserve of the United States'' as the probable intent of Congress in
that the federal forest reserves were transferred from Department of the
Interior to Department of Agriculture by act Feb. 1, 1905, ch. 288,
Sec. 1, 33 Stat. 628, and administration of forest reserves was placed
in Forest Service which was created by that act.
Words ``national forests'' and ``forest'' substituted for ``forest
reserves'' 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.
That part of act Mar. 3, 1905, which related to arrests by employees
of the National Park Service for violations of laws and regulations, was
(prior to the amendment made by Pub. L 94-458) classified to section 10
of this title.
Amendments
1976--Pub. L. 91-383, Sec. 10(a)(2), as added Pub. L. 94-458, struck
out ``and national parks'' after ``national forests'' and ``or national
park'' after ``jurisdiction the forest''.
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 (Sec. 631 et seq.) of Title 28.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 460lll-12 of this title.
