Skip to content
Georgia Commons
Menu

Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 12. CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES · Chapter 4. MINERAL RESOURCES AND CAVES · Article 4. CAVE PROTECTION

12-4-143. Defacing or disturbing natural condition of cave; breaking or tampering with gates, doors, or other device controlling or preventing access to caves; trespass.

Active

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

  1. (a)

    It shall be unlawful for any person, without the express written permission of the owner, willfully or knowingly to:#

    1. (1)

      Break, break off, crack, carve upon, write upon, burn, or otherwise mark upon, remove, or in any manner destroy, disturb, deface, mar, or harm the surfaces of any cave or any natural or archeological material therein, including speleothems;#

    2. (2)

      Disturb or alter in any manner the natural condition of any cave;#

    3. (3)

      Break, force, tamper with, or otherwise disturb a lock, gate, door, or other obstruction designed to control or prevent access to any cave, even though entrance thereto may not be gained; or#

    4. (4)

      Enter a cave posted against trespassing or a cave with a lock, gate, door, or other obstruction designed to control or prevent access to the cave.#

  2. (b)

    Any person who violates any provision of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.#

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Ga. L. 1977, p. 833, § 4; Ga. L. 1985, p. 1075, § 1.

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t12-(v10)-2021-pdf.pdf, Volume V10, 2021 edition, page 347; merge action: carried; file SHA-256 a1ca11f804f2.