[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1739 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1739

To amend the Act designating the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness 
 to clarify certain provisions of law regarding activities authorized 
          within the wilderness area, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 1997

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Act designating the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness 
 to clarify certain provisions of law regarding activities authorized 
          within the wilderness area, and for other purposes.

    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 ``BWCAW Accessibility and Fairness Act 
of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

    The Congress finds and declares that it is in the national interest 
to protect, preserve, and improve for the long term the diverse 
resources of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for the benefit 
of the people of the United States.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF ALLOWABLE USES WITHIN CERTAIN PORTION OF BOUNDARY 
              WATER CANOE AREA WILDERNESS.

    (a) Seagull Lake.--Section 4(c) of the Act of October 21, 1978, 
entitled ``An Act to designate the Boundary Waters Canoe Area 
Wilderness, to establish the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Mining 
Protection Area, and for other purposes'' (Public Law 95-495; 92 Stat. 
1649, 1650) is amended as follows:
            (1) In paragraph (2), by striking ``, that portion 
        generally east of Threemile Island, Cook County''.
            (2) In paragraph (3), by striking ``Sea Gull, Cook County, 
        that portion generally west of Threemile Island, Cook County, 
        until January 1999''.
    (b) Motorized Portages.--Section 4(g) of the Act of October 21, 
1978, entitled ``An Act to designate the Boundary Waters Canoe Area 
Wilderness, to establish the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Mining 
Protection Area, and for other purposes'' (Public Law 95-495; 92 Stat. 
1649, 1651) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(g) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent the 
operation of motorized vehicles and associated equipment to transport 
boats across the portages between the Moose Lake chain and Basswood 
Lake, between Fall Lake and Basswood Lake, and between Vermilion Lake 
and Trout Lake.''.
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