[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3470 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3470

To enhance the conservation and protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe 
            Area Wilderness and the Voyageurs National Park.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 1996

  Mr. Vento introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To enhance the conservation and protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe 
            Area Wilderness and the Voyageurs National Park.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Minnesota National Treasures 
Conservation and Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe 
        Area Wilderness are special natural resources that offer a 
        unique lakeland experience for the enjoyment and inspiration of 
        present and future generations;
            (2) Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe 
        Area Wilderness are international, national, and Minnesota 
        treasures worthy of national preservation and protection as a 
        national park and a wilderness area;
            (3) Congress has expressed overwhelming support for the 
        protection of these resources through their designation as a 
        national park and wilderness area and by providing sustained 
        funding to implement these landmark laws;
            (4) public acceptance and enthusiasm for the Boundary 
        Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has established the area as the 
        most widely used wilderness unit in the entire national 
        wilderness preservation system; and
            (5) it is necessary and desirable to further provide for 
        the orderly administration and management of public use and 
        enjoyment of these national areas, while at the same time 
        protecting the special qualities of the areas as a natural 
        forest-lakeland wilderness ecosystem of major esthetic, 
        cultural, scientific, recreational and educational value to the 
        Nation.

    TITLE I--THE BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS PRESERVATION

SEC. 101. BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS DESIGNATION AND MAP.

    Section 3 of Public Law 94-495 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note) is amended as 
follows--
            (1) by amending the first sentence to read as follows: 
        ``The areas generally depicted as wilderness on the map 
        entitled `Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness' and dated 
        1996, comprising approximately 1,101,000 acres, are hereby 
        designated as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness 
        (hereinafter referred to as the `Wilderness').'';
            (2) by striking ``one year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act'' and insert ``one year after the enactment of the 
        Minnesota National Treasures Conservation and Protection Act''; 
        and
            (3) by amending the third sentence to read as follows: 
        ``Such map and description shall be filed with the Committee on 
        Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate.''.

SEC. 102. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 4 OF PUBLIC LAW 95-495.

    Section 4 of Public Law 95-495 is amended as follows:
            (1) In subsection (c)(1), by striking ``Basswood, except 
        that portion generally north of the narrows at the north end of 
        Jackfish Bay and north of a point on the international boundary 
        between Ottawa Island and Washington Island'' and inserting in 
        lieu thereof: ``Pipestone Bay of Basswood and that portion of 
        Jackfish Bay of Basswood generally south of the narrows at the 
        north end of Jackfish Bay;''.
            (2) In subsection (d), by striking ``Loon Lake, Saint Louis 
        County; that portion of the Lac La Croix, Saint Louis County, 
        south of Snow Bay and east of Wilkins Bay.''.

SEC. 103. AIRSPACE RESERVATION.

    The provisions of Executive Order 10092 shall be applicable to the 
areas depicted on the map referred to in section 101 of this Act.

         TITLE II--THE VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK PRESERVATION ACT

SEC. 201. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREA.

    In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
1131 et seq.), land and waters of the Kabetogama Peninsula within 
Voyageurs National Park in the State of Minnesota, which comprise 
approximately 74,114 acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled 
``Voyaguers National Park Wilderness'', numbered __________ and dated 
__________ are hereby designated as wilderness and shall be known as 
the ``Voyageurs National Park Wilderness''.

SEC. 202. MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.

    As soon as practicable after enactment of this Act, a map and legal 
description of the wilderness area designated in section 201 shall be 
filed by the Secretary of the Interior with the Committee on Resources 
of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate. Such map and 
legal description shall have the same force and effect as if included 
in this Act, except that correction of clerical and typographical 
errors in such map and legal description may be made. Such map and 
legal description shall be on file and available for public inspection 
in the office of the Director of the National Park Service, Department 
of the Interior, and in the office of the Superintendent of Voyageurs 
National Park.

SEC. 203. ADMINISTRATION.

    Subject to valid existing rights, the area designated as wilderness 
by section 201 shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior 
in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Wilderness Act 
governing areas so designated. The Secretary shall continue to provide 
for the use of existing safety portages for snowmobiles, as depicted on 
the map referred to in section 201.
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