10 NATIONAL POEEST MANUAL. 



Section 50 of the act of March 4, 1909 (35 Stats., 1088), as amended 



by section 6 of the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stats., 857), 

 dati^sonNaton- makes ^ a criminal offense, punishable by a fine of 

 al Forest lands. no ^ more than $500, or imprisonment for not more 



than one year, or by both fine and imprisonment, to 

 unlawfully cut, or aid in unlawful cutting, or to wantonly injure 

 or destroy, or procure to be wantonly injured or destroyed, any 

 tree, growing, standing, or being upon any land of the United States 

 which has been reserved or purchased for any public use. 



By section 51 of the penal code (act of Mar. 4, 1909, 35 Stats., 



1088), the cutting, chipping, chopping, or boxing of 

 timber^for^tur' an ^ upon National Forest and other Government 

 pentine, etc. 1 land, or upon any land covered by or embraced in any 



unperfected settlement, application, filing, entry, 

 selection, or location, made under any law of the United States, 

 for the purpose of obtaining from such tree any pitch, turpentine, 

 or other substance, or knowingly encouraging, causing, procuring, 

 or aiding in such cutting, chipping, chopping, or boxing, or buying, 

 trading for, or in any manner acquiring the product so obtained 

 with knowledge that it was unlawfully obtained, is a criminal offense 

 punishable by a fine of not more than $500, or imprisonment for not 

 more than one year, or by both fine and imprisonment. 



Timber trespass on National Forests will be handled exclusively by 



the Department of Agriculture, except such trespasses 



Investigation as nave hitherfo been reported upon or are now being 



p ass m investigated or prosecuted by the Department of the 



Interior, and upon request from officials of that depart- 

 ment forest officers shall render all possible assistance in such inves- 

 tigation or prosecution. 



The cutting of timber upon an unperfected claim beyond the extent 



necessary for its actual development or for uses not 



^Timber cutting consistent with the purpose for which the claim was 



claims^ 61 initiated, or the cutting of timber from one mining 



claim for use upon another where such use does not 

 tend directly to develop the claim from which the timber is cut w r ill 

 be reported as timber trespass in accordance with the procedure pre- 

 scribed under " Settlement of trespass cases." Report should be 

 made at the same time upon the claim, using the outline on Form 654 

 or 655, and the status of the claim as indicated by the report will 

 determine the action which will be taken to prevent, settle, or prose- 

 cute the trespass. 



When a Forest officer discovers that National Forest timber is 



threatened with trespass, and no warning will serve to 

 trespass 3 a restrain the trespasser, an injunction maybe necessary 



to protect National Forest interests. The procedure 



to obtain an inj unction is outlined under * i Settlement of trespass cases. ' ' 



If, at the time the cutting was done, the trespasser, after the 



exercise of due diligence to ascertain from official 

 willful trespass sour ces the ownership of the land or his rights therein 



was unaware that he was not lawfully entitled to 

 the timber, the act will be considered an innocent trespass. If 

 cutting occurs beyond the boundaries of patented land through 

 bona fide mistake, or trespass has been committed on account of any 

 other bona fide error of fact or in innocence of the rights of the United 



