16 U.S.C. § 558g — Liability insurance

Page 1059 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 559 (b) For the purpose of the tort claim provi- sions of title 28, a volunteer under this Act shall be considered a Federal employee. (c) For the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, relating to compensation to Federal employees for work injuries, volunteers under this Act shall be deemed civil employees of the United States within the meaning of the term ‘‘employee’’ as defined in section 8101 of title 5, and the provisions of that subchapter shall apply. (d) For the purposes of claims relating to dam- age to, or loss of, personal property of a volun- teer incident to volunteer service, a volunteer under this Act shall be considered a Federal em- ployee, and the provisions of section 3721 of title 31 shall apply. (e) For the purposes of subsections (b), (c), and (d), the term ‘‘volunteer’’ includes a person pro- viding volunteer services to either of the Secre- taries who— (1) is recruited, trained, and supported by a cooperator under a mutual benefit agreement or cooperative agreement with either of the Secretaries; and (2) performs such volunteer services under the supervision of the cooperator as directed by either of the Secretaries in the mutual ben- efit agreement or cooperative agreement in the mutual benefit agreement, including direc- tion that specifies— (A) the volunteer services, including the geographic boundaries of the work to be per- formed by the volunteers, and the super- vision to be provided by the cooperator; (B) the applicable project safety standards and protocols to be adhered to by the volun- teers and enforced by the cooperator; (C) the on-site visits to be made by either of the Secretaries, if feasible and only if nec- essary to verify that volunteers are per- forming the volunteer services and the coop- erator is providing the supervision agreed upon; (D) the equipment the volunteers are au- thorized to use; (E) the training the volunteers are re- quired to complete; (F) the actions the volunteers are author- ized to take; and (G) any other terms and conditions that are determined to be necessary by the appli- cable Secretary. (Pub. L. 92–300, § 6, as added Pub. L. 118–234, title III, § 341, Jan. 4, 2025, 138 Stat. 2913.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in subsecs. (b) to (d), is Pub. L. 92–300, May 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 147, as amended generally by Pub. L. 118–234, title III, § 341, Jan. 4, 2025, 138 Stat. 2913, known as the Volunteers in the National Forests and Public Lands Act, which enacted sections 558a to 558g of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under sec- tion 558a of this title and Tables. § 558f. Promotion of volunteer opportunities The Secretaries shall promote volunteer op- portunities in areas administered by the Secre- taries. (Pub. L. 92–300, § 7, as added Pub. L. 118–234, title III, § 341, Jan. 4, 2025, 138 Stat. 2914.) § 558g. Liability insurance The Secretaries shall not require a cooperator or volunteer (as those terms are used in section 558e of this title) to have liability insurance to provide the volunteer services authorized under this Act. (Pub. L. 92–300, § 8, as added Pub. L. 118–234, title III, § 341, Jan. 4, 2025, 138 Stat. 2914.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in text, is Pub. L. 92–300, May 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 147, as amended generally by Pub. L. 118–234, title III, § 341, Jan. 4, 2025, 138 Stat. 2913, known as the Volunteers in the National Forests and Public Lands Act, which enacted this section and sections 558a to 558f of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under sec- tion 558a of this title and Tables. § 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 regula- tions 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 viola- tion of said laws and regulations; but nothing herein contained shall be construed as pre- venting 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, § 402(b)(2), Oct. 17, 1968, 82 Stat. 1118; Pub. L. 91–383, § 10(a)(2), Aug. 18, 1970, as added Pub. L. 94–458, § 2, Oct. 7, 1976, 90 Stat. 1941; Pub. L. 101–650, title III, § 321, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5117.) Editorial Notes 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, § 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 viola- tions of laws and regulations, was (prior to the amend- ment made by Pub. L 94–458) classified to section 10 of this title. AMENDMENTS 1976—Pub. L. 91–383, § 10(a)(2), as added Pub. L. 94–458, struck out ‘‘and national parks’’ after ‘‘national for-