Legend says the outlaw Butch Cassidy hid vast stashes of loot across the West. But those still hunting for Cassidy’s treasure could join the Wild Bunch in outlaw status. Hunting for buried treasure on federal lands, it turns out, is a federal crime, and almost all the West where Cassidy roamed is federal land.
But that’s not all. If you were to commit the federal crime of using too much firewood on your campfire while scouring the rugged West for Cassidy’s treasure, that would make you an outlaw. And if you were to move a table at a campsite so your treasure-hunting pals could sit together for a meal, you would be committing another federal crime. Treasure-hunting is muddy work, but if you use an outdoor pump to clean yourself off? Federal crime. And if your treasure-hunting adventures frighten a bird? Federal crime.
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