Unauthorized use of Smokey the Bear’s image could land an offender in prison. So can unauthorized use of the slogan “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute.” While one may think the government would never initiate a criminal prosecution for either of these two “criminal” acts, there have been numerous examples of individuals being prosecuted under federal law for conduct that should not be criminalized.

For example, Eddie Anderson of Idaho took his son camping in the wilderness, searching for arrowheads. They didn’t find any, but they were searching on federal land, which is prohibited by the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979. They both faced a felony charge, punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment before they pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and were fined $1,500 each and placed on probation for a year.