Federal · Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

18 U.S.C. § 1858: Survey marks destroyed or removed

Misdemeanor

What this law says, in plain English

This statute prohibits willfully destroying, defacing, or removing survey marks, witness trees, monuments, or bench marks on government survey lines. Violation is punishable by fine, up to six months imprisonment, or both.

Read the full statutory text

Whoever willfully destroys, defaces, changes, or removes to another place any section corner, quarter-section corner, or meander post, on any Government line of survey, or willfully cuts down any witness tree or any tree blazed to mark the line of a Government survey, or willfully defaces, changes, or removes any monument or bench mark of any Government survey, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

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.