36 C.F.R. § 261.2

Current through September 30, 2024
Section 261.2 - Definitions

The following definitions apply to this part:

Administrative unit. A National Forest, a National Grassland, a purchase unit, a land utilization project, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Land Between the Lakes, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, or other comparable unit of the National Forest System.

Archaeological resource means any material remains of prehistoric or historic human life or activities which are of archaeological interest and are at least 50 years of age, and the physical site, location, or context in which they are found.

Area. A discrete, specifically delineated space that is smaller, and, except for over-snow vehicle use, in most cases much smaller, than a Ranger District.

Campfire means a fire, not within any building, mobile home or living accommodation mounted on a motor vehicle, which is used for cooking, personal warmth, lighting, ceremonial, or esthetic purposes. Fire includes campfire.

Camping means the temporary use of National Forest System lands for the purpose of overnight occupancy without a permanently-fixed structure.

Camping equipment means the personal property used in or suitable for camping, and includes any vehicle used for transportation and all equipment in possession of a person camping. Food and beverage are not considered camping equipment.

Cave means any naturally occurring void, cavity, recess, or system of interconnected passages beneath the surface of the earth or within a cliff or ledge and which is large enough to permit a person to enter, whether the entrance is excavated or naturally formed. Such term shall include any natural pit, sinkhole, or other opening which is an extensive of a cave entrance or which is an integral part of the cave.

Cave resources mean any materials or substances occurring in caves including, but not limited to, biotic, cultural, mineralogic, paleontologic, geologic, and hydrologic resources.

Commercial use or activity- any use or activity on National Forest System lands

(a) where an entry or participation fee is charged, or
(b) where the primary purpose is the sale of a good or service, and in either case, regardless of whether the use or activity is intended to produce a profit.

Damaging means to injure, mutilate, deface, destroy, cut, chop, girdle, dig, excavate, kill or in any way harm or disturb.

Developed recreation site means an area which has been improved or developed for recreation.

Distribution of printed material- disseminating, posting, affixing, or erecting printed material as defined in this section.

Forest officer means an employee of the Forest Service.

Forest road or trail. A road or trail wholly or partly within or adjacent to and serving the National Forest System that the Forest Service determines is necessary for the protection, administration, and utilization of the National Forest System and the use and development of its resources.

Historical resource means any structural, architectural, archaeological, artifactual or other material remains of past human life or activities which are of historical interest and are at least 50 years of age, and the physical site, location, or context in which they are found.

Indian tribe means any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or other community that is included on a list published by the Secretary of the Interior under section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a-1 ).

Motorized equipment means any machine activated by a nonliving power source except small battery-powered handcarried devices such as flashlights, shavers, Geiger counters, and cameras.

Motor vehicle means any vehicle which is self-propelled, other than:

(1) A vehicle operated on rails; and
(2) Any wheelchair or mobility device, including one that is battery-powered, that is designed solely for use by a mobility-impaired person for locomotion and that is suitable for use in an indoor pedestrian area.

National Forest System includes all national forest lands and waters reserved or withdrawn from the public domain of the United States, national forest lands and waters acquired through purchase, exchange, donation, or other means, national grasslands and land utilization projects and waters administered under title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (50 Stat. 525, 7 U.S.C. 1010-1012 ), and other lands, waters, or interests therein acquired under the Wild and Scenic River Act (16 U.S.C. 1271-1287 ) or National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241-1249 ).

National Forest System road. A forest road other than a road which has been authorized by a legally documented right-of-way held by a State, county, or other local public road authority.

National Forest System trail. A forest trail other than a trail which has been authorized by a legally documented right-of-way held by a State, county, or other local public road authority.

National Forest wilderness means those parts of the National Forest System which were designated units of the National Wilderness Preservation System by the Wilderness Act of September 3, 1964, and such other areas of the National Forest System as are added to the wilderness system by act of Congress.

Operating plan means the following documents, providing that the document has been issued or approved by the Forest Service: A plan of operations as provided for in 36 CFR part 228 , subparts A and D, and 36 CFR part 292 , subparts C and G; a supplemental plan of operations as provided for in 36 CFR part 228, subpart A, and 36 CFR part 292, subpart G; an operating plan as provided for in 36 CFR part 228, subpart C, and 36 CFR part 292, subpart G; an amended operating plan and a reclamation plan as provided for in 36 CFR part 292, subpart G; a surface use plan of operations as provided for in 36 CFR part 228, subpart E; a supplemental surface use plan of operations as provided for in 36 CFR part 228, subpart E; a permit as provided for in 36 CFR 251.15 ; and an operating plan and a letter of authorization as provided for in 36 CFR part 292, subpart D.

Person means natural person, corporation, company, partnership, trust, firm, or association of persons.

Permission means oral authorization by a forest officer.

Permit means authorization in writing by a forest officer.

Prehistoric resource means any structural, architectural, archaeological, artifactual or other material remains of past human life or activity generally prior to the advent of written records and of anthropological interest, and the physical site, location, or context in which they are found.

Prescribed fire means a planned and intentionally lit fire allowed to burn within the requirements of Federal or State laws, regulations, or permits.

Primitive areas are those areas within the National Forest System classified as Primitive on the effective date of the Wilderness Act, September 3, 1964.

Printed material -any written and/or graphic material including but not limited to pamphlets, brochures, photographs, graphics, signs, and posters.

Publicly nude means nude in any place where a person may be observed by another person. Any person is nude if the person has failed to cover the rectal area, pubic area or genitals. A female person is also nude if she has failed to cover both breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola. Each such covering must be fully opaque. No person under the age of 10 years shall be considered publicly nude.

Recreation fee means a standard amenity recreation fee, an expanded amenity recreation fee, or a special recreation permit fee as defined in section 802(8) of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801(8) ).

Residence. Any structure or shelter, whether temporary or permanent, including, but not limited to, buildings, buses, cabins, campers, houses, lean-tos, mills, mobile homes, motor homes, pole barns, recreational vehicles, sheds, shops, tents and trailers, which is being used, capable of being used, or designed to be used, in whole or in part, full or part-time, as living or sleeping quarters by any person, including a guard or watchman.

Special-use authorization means a permit, term permit, lease or easement which allows occupancy, or use rights or privileges of National Forest System land.

State means any State, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

State law means the law of any State in whose exterior boundaries an act or omission occurs regardless of whether State law is otherwise applicable.

Stove fire means a campfire built inside an enclosed stove or grill, a portable brazier, or a pressurized liquid or gas stove, including a space-heating device.

Traditional and cultural purpose means, with respect to a definable use, area, or practice, that it is identified by an Indian tribe as traditional or cultural because of its long-established significance or ceremonial nature for the Indian tribe.

Unauthorized livestock means any cattle, sheep, goat, hog, or equine not defined as a wild free-roaming horse or burro by § 222.20(b)(13) , which is not authorized by permit to be upon the land on which the livestock is located and which is not related to use authorized by a grazing permit; provided, that noncommercial pack and saddle stock used by recreationists, travelers, other Forest visitors for occasional trips, as well as livestock to be trailed over an established driveway when there is no overnight stop on Forest Service administered land do not fall under this definition.

Vehicle means any device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported, including any frame, chassis, or body of any motor vehicle, except devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.

Volunteer or hosted enrollee means any person, not a Forest Service employee, officially participating in a Forest Service human resource program as authorized by an act of Congress and identified to accomplish one or more of the following objectives: provide skills training; education; useful work; develop understanding of ecological systems and conservation of natural resources; build cultural and communication bridges between various socioeconomic groups; and further the administration, development, and management of National Forest resources, forest research, and State and Private Forest activities.

Wild free-roaming horses and burros mean all unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros and their progeny that have used lands of the National Forest System on or after December 15, 1971, or do hereafter use these lands as all or part of their habitat, but does not include any horse or burro introduced onto National Forest System lands on or after December 15, 1971, by accident, negligence, or willful disregard of private ownership. Unbranded, claimed horses and burros, where the claim is found to be erroneous, are also considered as wild and free-roaming if they meet the criteria above.

36 C.F.R. §261.2

42 FR 2957, Jan. 14, 1977

For FEDERAL REGISTER citations affecting § 261.2 , see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov .