Zoning › State preemptions › New Hampshire

White Mountain National Forest — Federal Land Carve-Out (USFS) (NH)

Tracked preemption from the New Hampshire overlay bundle.

Overview

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Effective
1918-05-16
Sunset
—
Authority
federal
Scope
state:NH
Other New Hampshire preemptions
NH HB 631 / Chapter 201 (2025) — Multifamily / Mixed-Use By Right on Commercial LandNH RSA 674:72 — Accessory Dwelling Units (HB 577 / Chapter 197 Rewrite)NH RSA 674:71 / 674:58–61 — Workforce Housing Reasonable Opportunity MandateNH RSA 483-B — Shoreland Water Quality Protection ActPease ANG (Air National Guard) AICUZ — Federal Airspace and Noise OverlayNH RSA 674:32 — Manufactured Housing Anti-Exclusionary MandateNH RSA 675 — Procedure for Adoption of Zoning, Subdivision, and Site-Plan RegulationsHubbard Brook Experimental Forest — USFS Research Watershed Carve-Out

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

parcel.within_white_mountain_national_forest == True

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
base_districts[*].allowed_usesoverrideusfs_forest_plan_managementUSFS Land and Resource Management Plan controls land use on federal land; state and local zoning does not apply to federal property within WMNF boundaries
review_typeoverrideusfs_special_use_permitAny non-federal activity on WMNF land (telecom towers, utility crossings, outfitter operations) requires USFS Special Use Permit, not local zoning approval

Citation

Authority source
Weeks Act of 1911; 16 USC §§471-482; USFS WMNF Land and Resource Management Plan (2005, ongoing revision)
§ 16 USC §§471-482
https://www.fs.usda.gov/whitemountain

Research notes

WMNF covers ~750,000 acres across Coos, Grafton, and Carroll counties (NH) plus a small Maine portion. Federal land is exempt from state and local zoning under the Supremacy Clause. Inholdings (private parcels within WMNF boundaries) remain subject to local zoning. Wilderness areas (Great Gulf, Presidential-Dry River, Pemigewasset, Sandwich Range, Wild River, Caribou-Speckled Mountain) carry additional Wilderness Act restrictions. Tracked here so municipal records in WMNF-adjacent towns (Lincoln, Conway, Bartlett, Bethlehem, Easton, Franconia, Gorham, Jackson, Livermore, Waterville Valley, Woodstock) accurately reflect non-zoned federal parcels.