[House Report 105-500]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     105-500
_______________________________________________________________________


 
              BWCAW ACCESSIBILITY AND FAIRNESS ACT OF 1997

                                _______
                                

 April 29, 1998.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 1739]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(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, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill 
as amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

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, until January 
        1, 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 
(in the same manner as in 1992) of motorized vehicles 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.''.
  (c) Prohibition of Subsidies.--Section 4 of such Act is amended by 
adding the following new subsection at the end thereof:
  ``(j) Subsidy for Motorized Portages Prohibited.--No Federal funds 
may be used to operate or to assist in any way in the operation of any 
motorized portage within the wilderness area.''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 1739 is 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.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is the only 
lakeland-based wilderness area in the continental United 
States. Encompassing over 1.3 million acres, it is located on 
the northern edge of the Superior National Forest in Minnesota.
    The Boundary Waters Canoe Area was included as part of the 
original 1964 Wilderness Preservation Act; however, to gain 
official wilderness designation for the Boundary Waters, Former 
Senator Hubert Humphrey (D-MN) made a compromise which allowed 
for motor-use to continue. The compromise allowed for motors on 
a limited number of lakes and limited motorized transport of 
boats, motors, gear and people across land between motorized 
lakes as well as some logging, mining and snowmobiling.
    In 1978, another agreement further clarified specific uses 
within the wilderness. This agreement allowed the use of 25-
horsepower motors on a limited number of lakes and limited 
motorized transport of boats, motors, gear and people across 
land between motorized lakes.
    In 1992, a lawsuit was settled challenging the use of three 
of the existing portages that allowed access between motorized 
lakes. This lawsuit betrayed the 1978 agreement, and removed 
motorized access from these three portages.
    H.R. 1739 would re-open the three portages of Prairie, 
Trout and Four Mile to motorized transport allowing for boats 
to be transported mechanically between motorized lakes. The 
bill would also suspend the ten horse-power motor restriction 
proposed take effect in 1999 on Seagull Lake. This keeps the 
current situation which imposes a ten-horsepower motor 
restriction on all the lake inside the designated wilderness 
area and no restriction on the portion outside the wilderness. 
All non-motorized paddle only lakes will remain paddle only 
under this bill.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 1739 was introduced on May 22, 1997, by Congressman 
James L. Oberstar (D-MN). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. On September 9, 
1997, the Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 1739, where the 
Administration testified in opposition to the bill. In its 
view, the bill does not provide a solution to the existing 
controversy, and it may increase the current polarization of 
the issue. On October 7, 1997, the Subcommittee met to mark up 
H.R. 1739. An amendment to maintain current law for Seagull 
Lake was offered by Congressman Bruce Vento (D-MN) which failed 
by voice vote. Mr. Vento offered an amendment to insure that 
only those portages that were motorized in 1992 can be 
motorized under H.R. 1739; this amendment also failed by voice 
vote. An amendment to limit motorized portages solely to trucks 
and trailers and not other commercial operations was offered by 
Mr. Vento, and failed by voice vote. An amendment to prohibit 
federal subsidies for private portages was offered by Mr. 
Vento, and failed on a 3-4 roll call vote, as follows: 





    An amendment to keep Four Mile Portage non-motorized was 
offered by Mr. Vento, which failed on voice vote. An amendment 
to close Alder, Canoe, and Loon Lakes and Lac la Croix to 
motorboats was offered by Mr. Vento, and failed by voice vote. 
The bill was then ordered favorably reported to the Full 
Committee by roll call vote of 5-2, as follows:





    On October 22, 1997, the Full Resources Committee met to 
consider H.R. 1739. An en bloc amendment to prohibit subsidies 
for motorized portages, limit motorized portages to those 
mentioned in the bill, and limit motorized portages solely to 
trucks and trailers and not other commercial operations was 
offered by Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth (R-ID), and adopted by 
voice vote. Regarding the prohibition against subsidizing 
motorized portages, the Committee intends that the amendment 
affect only motorized concessions meant to provide portaging 
services. The U.S. Forest Service is still required to provide 
adequate funding to maintain the portages and effectively 
manage and supervise the concessions operating them in the same 
manner as in 1992 and before, just as it is responsible for 
maintaining, managing and supervising all other lands and 
waters in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Mr. Vento then 
offered three amendments which all failed by voice vote. The 
first amendment struck the portion of the bill which reopened 
Seagull Lake to motorboats. The second amendment retained Four 
Mile portage as a nonmotorized portage. The third amendment 
closed Alder, Canoe, and Loon Lakes and Lac la Croix to 
motorboats. The bill as amended was then ordered favorably 
reported by a roll call vote of 22-7 to the House of 
Representatives, as follows:





            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority 
to enact H.R. 1739.

                        Cost of the Legislation

    Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 1739. However, clause 7(d) of that rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     Compliance With House Rule XI

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 
1739 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enactment of H.R. 1739 could affect offsetting receipts by 
increasing permits fees to use portages, but any effects would 
be negligible.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 1739.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 
1739 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, October 29, 1997.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1739, the Boundary 
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Accessibility and Fairness Act of 
1977.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Victoria V. 
Heid.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1739--Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Accessibility and 
        Fairness Act of 1997

    CBO estimates that enacting this bill would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Because H.R. 1739 
could affect offsetting receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures 
would apply; however, CBO estimates that any such effects would 
be negligible. H.R. 1739 contains no intergovernmental or 
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act of 1995 and would have no significant impact on the 
budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    H.R. 1739 would remove some currently planned restrictions 
on the use of motorboats on Seagull Lake in Cook County, 
Minnesota, and also would permit motorized vehicles to be used 
to transport boats across portages in the Boundary Waters Canoe 
Area Wilderness in the same manner as they were last permitted 
in 1992. The bill would prohibit federal funds from being used 
to operate any motorized portages in the wilderness area. Based 
on information from the U.S. Forest Service, CBO expects the 
enacting this bill could increase the offsetting receipts from 
permit fees to use the portages, but we estimate that any such 
effects would be negligible.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Victoria V. 
Heid. This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    H.R. 1739 contains no unfunded mandates.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the 
bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed 
to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed 
is shown in roman):

                SECTION 4 OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 21, 1978

   AN ACT To designate the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, to 
 establish the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Mining Protection Area, and 
                          for other purposes.

                             administration

  Sec. 4. (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (c) Effective on January 1, 1979 the use of motorboats is 
prohibited within the wilderness designated by this Act, and 
that portion within the wilderness of all lakes which are 
partly within the wilderness, except for the following:
          (1) * * *
          (2) On the following lakes and river, motorboats with 
        motors no greater than ten horsepower shall be 
        permitted: Clearwater, Cook County; North Fowl, Cook 
        County; South Fowl, Cook County; Island River east of 
        Lake Isabella, Lake County; Sea Gull[, that portion 
        generally east of Threemile Island, Cook County]; 
        Alder, Cook County; Canoe, Cook County.
          (3) On the following lakes, or specified portions of 
        lakes, motorboats with motors of no greater than ten 
        horsepower shall be permitted until the dates 
        specified: Basswood River to and including Crooked 
        Lake, Saint Louis and Lake Counties, until January 1, 
        1984; Carp Lake, the Knife River, and Knife Lake, Lake 
        County, until January 1, 1984; [Sea Gull, Cook County, 
        that portion generally west of Threemile Island, until 
        January 1, 1999;] Brule, Cook County, until January 1, 
        1994, or until the termination of operation of any 
        resort adjacent to Brule Lake in operation as of 1977, 
        whichever occurs first.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  [(g) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to require the 
termination of the existing operation of motor vehicles to 
assist in the transport of boats across the portages from 
Sucker Lake to Basswood Lake, from Fall Lake to Basswood Lake, 
and from Lake Vermilion to Trout Lake, during the period ending 
January 1, 1984. Following said date, unless the Secretary 
determines that there is no feasible nonmotorized means of 
transporting boats across the portages to reach the lakes 
previously served by the portages listed above, he shall 
terminate all such motorized use of each portage listed above.]
  (g) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent the 
operation (in the same manner as in 1992) of motorized vehicles 
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.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (j) Subsidy for Motorized Portages Prohibited.--No Federal 
funds may be used to operate or to assist in any way in the 
operation of any motorized portage within the wilderness area.

                            DISSENTING VIEWS

    We oppose H.R. 1739. This proposal is unneeded and should 
be rejected by the full House.
    The 1978 BWCA Wilderness Act, Public Law 95-495, is 
working. This law, supported by a bipartisan, overwhelming 
majority in the House and in the Senate, was a responsible 
compromise. The legislation balanced local recreational 
concerns with the national interest to preserve the BWCA as a 
wilderness area. Over twenty percent of the water surface area 
remains open to motorboats, while the remaining waters offer a 
wilderness experience unmatched in our country.
    This compromise law has been so successful that the BWCAW 
is the most popular wilderness unit in our entire National 
Wilderness System. While the area comprises only one percent of 
the acreage of the entire wilderness system, the BWCAW accounts 
for over 10 percent of the use of the system. This success is 
consistent with the commitments made throughout the history of 
the BWCAW and the representations made by past Minnesota and 
national lawmakers.
    Another measure of the success of the existing BWCAW law 
has been the response of the Minnesota legislature to H.R. 1739 
and its attack on the BWCAW. As a direct response in opposition 
to the changes proposed by H.R. 1739, the state legislation on 
the BWCA has been introduced in the Minnesota House and Senate. 
This bipartisan legislation would continue the current level of 
restrictions on motorized use in the wilderness. The 
legislation has broad bipartisan support with over 75 Senate 
and House members from all regions of the state included as 
authors.
    H.R. 1739 would undo two provisions of the 1978 compromise. 
The legislation would restore trucks to three portages in the 
wilderness area--Trout Portage, Prairie Portage, and Four Mile 
Portage. Public Law 95-495 takes a definite position on 
motorized portages. The 95th Congress thought that this issue 
was important enough to address through specific provisions in 
the law. It is not an issue upon which Congress was silent. 
Clearly and without any ambiguity, the law states:

          * * * unless the Secretary determines that there is 
        no feasible nonmotorized means of transporting boats 
        across the portages to reach the lakes previously 
        served by the portages listed above, he shall terminate 
        all such motorized use of each portage listed above.

    To further underline Congressional intent on the use of 
trucks, Chairman Phil Burton, the floor manager of the 
legislation, defined ``feasible'' during the actual floor 
debate on the Conference Report. He stated ``feasible meant a 
method involving two able-bodied resort guests and one able-
bodied guide.'' The Chairman and the lead author of the bill 
went on to state: ``I would expect that the Secretary will 
terminate motorized use of these portages.''
    The Congressional record is clear. Motorized use of these 
portages was to be eliminated, a position upheld by the Federal 
courts. The removal of trucks from the portages has not 
diminished motorized access. The latest Forest Service numbers 
on use levels for 1996 show that motorboats continue intense 
use of the lakes connected by the portages in question at close 
to the ceiling established by law and administered by the 
National Forest Service.
    Last year for Basswood Lake, over 100 percent of the day 
use motorboat permits were used (2,427 permits used out of 
2,375 available). For Trout Lake, 413 out of 588 available 
permits were used. This high use level is not a deviation from 
past use. In fact, over the past two years, even though trucks 
were not allowed on the portages, near capacity levels of 
motorboat use on Basswood Lake and Trout Lake have been the 
norm. For the 1995 through 1996 seasons, over 98 percent of the 
motorboat permits on these two lakes have been used. It is 
important to remember that each permit can be used for up to 4 
motorboats, a practice that is common for Basswood Lake. Under 
conservative estimates, that would mean up to nearly 10,000 
motorboats have used Basswood Lake and nearly 2,000 motorboats 
have used Trout Lake over the past two years, an average of 
6,000 motorboats per year for these two lakes.
    As the Forest Service data demonstrates, even after the 
trucks were removed from the portages, access to Trout and 
Basswood was and is available. For individuals who do not want 
to or cannot portage their own boat, commercial, non-motorized 
portage services are available for Prairie Portage. Free market 
advocates should note that a commercial, non-motorized portage 
service was available for the Trout Lake portage, but was 
discontinued because people chose not to use it.
    Nearly 6,000 motorboats each year can't be wrong--a 
feasible, nonmotorized means of transporting boats across the 
portages exist and motorized portages should not and need not 
be reintroduced into the BWCA.
    Nor are the motorized portages necessary for the disabled. 
Individuals are not being denied access on the basis of 
personal disability. In fact, organizations such as the 
Minnesota State Council on Disability, the official state body 
that represents the disabled, Wilderness Inquiry, the American 
Amputee Foundation, and Disabled Sports USA oppose efforts to 
introduce motorized vehicles into the wilderness to accommodate 
the disabled.
    The 1978 compromise law provided a 20 year phase-out of 
motors on a portion of Sea Gull Lake. H.R. 1739 would stop that 
1999 phase-out and permanently keep open 3,600 more acres of 
water in the BWCAW to motorboats, fragmenting the 1978 efforts 
at compromise.
    H.R. 1739 is yet another example of the Committee's ongoing 
attack against our national conservation system. Foiled in 
their attempts to force wholesale changes in the 104th 
Congress, this Committee is now slowly seeking to dismantle our 
special wilderness system, our National Parks, and our legacy 
to future generations.
    Despite the fact that in a recent nationwide poll, 70 
percent of the American people opposed reintroducing trucks and 
jeeps in the BWCAW, the Committee is moving ahead with its 
agenda. From the designation of the Superior National Forest by 
President Teddy Roosevelt to the inclusion of the Boundary 
Waters Canoe Area in the original Wilderness Act by Senator 
Hubert Humphrey, strong voices on both sides of the issue have 
been heard. But each and every time that the national 
government has been called on to act, the American people and 
their elected leaders have recognized the BWCA wilderness as a 
special area. Hopefully, this Congress will not retreat from a 
century of commitment to this national treasure.

                                   Bruce F. Vento.
                                   Maurice Hinchey.
                                   Eni Faleomavaega.
                                   George Miller.

                                
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