Federal · Title 16 — Conservation

16 U.S.C. § 559c: Powers of officers and employees of Forest Service

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

This statute grants Forest Service officers authority to carry firearms, investigate and enforce controlled substance laws on National Forest lands, make arrests, serve warrants, conduct searches, and seize evidence.

Read the full statutory text
carry firearms; conduct, within the exterior boundaries of the National Forest System, investigations of violations of and enforce section 841 of title 21 and other criminal violations relating to marijuana and other controlled substances that are manufactured, distributed, or dispensed on National Forest System lands and to conduct such investigations and enforcement of such laws outside the exterior boundaries of the National Forest System for offenses committed within the National Forest System or which affect the administration of the National Forest System (including the pursuit of persons suspected of such offenses who flee the National Forest System to avoid arrest); make arrests with a warrant or process for misdemeanor violations, or without a warrant or process for violations of such misdemeanors that any such officer or employee has probable cause to believe are being committed in his presence or view, or for a felony with a warrant or without a warrant if he has probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such felony, for offenses committed within the National Forest System or which affect the administration of the National Forest System;; 1 1 So in original. serve warrants and other process issued by a court or officer of competent jurisdiction; search with or without warrant or process any person, place, or conveyance according to Federal law or rule of law; and seize with or without warrant or process any evidentiary item according to Federal law or rule of law.

Verify at the official source: Federal legislative text

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.