[Senate Report 105-80]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 160
105th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 1st Session                                                     105-80
_______________________________________________________________________


 
BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS ACCESSIBILITY AND FAIRNESS ACT OF 
                                  1997

                                _______
                                

               September 11, 1997.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 783]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 783) to increase the accessibility of the 
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends 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 ``Boundary Waters Canoe Area 
Wilderness Accessibility and Fairness Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
          (1) 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;
          (2) the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is a unique 
        wilderness area dedicated to appropriate public access and use 
        through historically recognized motorized and nonmotorized 
        recreational activities consistent with the protections 
        afforded by and the commitments made in the Wilderness Act (16 
        U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and the Act 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'', approved October 21, 1978 (Public Law 95-495; 
        92 Stat. 1649);
          (3) few other units of the National Wilderness Preservation 
        System have been created from more densely populated and 
        heavily utilized regions than the Boundary Waters Canoe Area 
        Wilderness; and
          (4) the cessation of traditional motorized transport on 3 
        portages between lakes on which the use of a motorboat is 
        permitted in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness unfairly 
        restricts traditional and recognized public use of the 
        wilderness and causes unnecessary hardship to individuals and 
        families who have physical difficulty accessing the area.

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

    (a) Seagull Lake.--Section 4(c) of the Act 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'', approved October 21, 1978 (Public Law 95-495; 92 Stat. 
1650) is amended--
          (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``, that portion generally 
        east of Threemile Island,''; and
          (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 of the Act 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'', approved October 21, 1978 (Public Law 95-495; 92 Stat. 
1650) is amended by striking subsection (g) and inserting the 
following:
    ``(g) Motorized Portages.--The Secretary shall permit the operation 
of motorized vehicles and associated equipment to transport boats 
across the portage between the Moose Lake chain and Basswood Lake, 
between Fall Lake and Basswood Lake, and between Vermilion Lake and 
Trout Lake.''.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 783 is to direct the Secretary of 
Agriculture to permit the use of motors at three portages 
within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. It would also 
delete a provision in the 1978 Boundary Waters Canoe Area 
Wilderness Act that would have phased out the use of motor 
boats on a portion of Sea Gull Lake within the wilderness.

                          Background and Need

    The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) 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. Under the leadership of the late U.S. Senator, 
Hubert Humphrey, this area was first included in the National 
Wilderness Preservation System in 1964.
    The 1978 BWCAW Act, which created the present-day 
wilderness, limited the number of lakes that were open to 
motorboats, curtailed most snowmobile use, and restricted motor 
access through a quota system and other restrictions. The 1978 
Act allowed for motorboat use on 18 of the 1,175 lakes and the 
operation of three truck-operated portages within the BWCAW. 
The Act strictly outlawed logging, mining, commercial, and 
residential development.
    The Act further specified that, barring feasible 
alternatives, trucks or other motor conveyances could be used 
to transport boats, gear on the longest portages (Prairie, 
Trout and Fourmile) between the lakes on which motors were 
still allowed. After a study by the University of Minnesota, 
the Forest Service determined there was no feasible alternative 
to motorized portages. This allowed the trucks to remain. 
However, the 8th Circuit Court of appeals adopted a narrower 
definition of the term ``feasible'' and ordered the motorized 
portages closed in 1992.
    The bill would also affect Seagull Lake on the periphery of 
the eastern section of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area 
Wilderness. The lakeshore boasts 52 homes and one resort. Under 
current law, within the wilderness, ten horsepower motors are 
permitted until the year 1999. After 1999, motor boats would be 
prohibited in a portion of the lake within the wilderness. S. 
783 would permit 10 horsepower motors to be used permanently on 
all of the lake's within the wilderness.

                     Legislative History for S. 783

    S. 783 was introduced on May 22, 1997 by Senator Rod Grams 
of Minnesota. On June 26, 1997 a hearing was held by the 
Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management. A markup 
was held on July 30, 1997, at which time the Committee ordered 
the bill reported with a favorable recommendation.
    In the 104th Congress, Senator Grams introduced a similar 
bill, S. 1738 on May 8, 1996. No action was taken by the Senate 
during the 104th Congress on the bill.

            Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Votes

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on July 30, 1997, by majority vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 783 if 
amended as described here in.
    The rollcall vote on reporting the measure was 11 yeas, and 
9 nays, as follows:

        YEAS                          NAYS
Mr. Murkowski                       Mr. Bumpers
Mr. Domenici                        Mr. Ford
Mr. Nickles                         Mr. Bingaman\1\
Mr. Craig                           Mr. Akaka
Mr. Campbell\1\                     Mr. Dorgan
Mr. Thomas                          Mr. Graham\1\
Mr. Kyl                             Mr. Wyden
Mr. Grams                           Mr. Johnson
Mr. Smith                           Ms. Landrieu\1\
Mr. Gorton
Mr. Burns\1\

    \1\ Indicates votes by proxy.

                          Committee Amendments

    The Committee amendment was offered to clarify a number of 
technical changes.

                           Section-by-Section

    Section 1 of the bill provides the short title, the 
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Accessibility and 
Fairness Act of 1997.
    Section 2 contains four findings that are self-explanatory.
    Section 3 of the bill allows ten horsepower motorboats to 
continue to operate west of Threemile Island on Seagull Lake 
after the year 1999. This section also amends the 1978 BWCAW 
law to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to allow motorized 
transport on Prairie, Trout and Fourmile portages.

    Cost and Budgetary Considerations and Federal Mandate Evaluation

    The following estimate of costs of this measure and Federal 
mandate evaluation has been provided by the Congressional 
Budget Office.
                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, August 7, 1997.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 783, the Boundary 
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Accessibility and Fairness Act of 
1997.
    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.

S. 783--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 S. 783 could 
affect offsetting receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
apply; however, CBO estimates that any such effects would be 
negligible. S. 783 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.
    S. 783 would remove some current restrictions on the use of 
motorboats on Sea Gull Lake in Cook County, Minnesota, and also 
would require the Secretary of Agriculture to allow motorized 
vehicles and associated equipment to be used to transport boats 
across three portages in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area 
Wilderness. Based on information from the U.S. Forest Service, 
CBO expects that enacting this bill could increase the 
offsetting receipt 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.

                      Regulatory Impact Evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 783.
    The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of 
imposing Government established standards or significant 
economic responsibilities on private individuals or businesses. 
The bill would remove some restrictions on uses in certain 
portions of the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little if any additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 783.

                        Executive Communication

    The administration testified in opposition to the 
legislation at a June 26, 1997 hearing held by the Subcommittee 
on Forests and Public Land Management. Legislative reports from 
the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior, 
and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth Executive 
agency recommendations on S. 783 were unavailable at the time 
the report was filed. When these reports become available, the 
Chairman will request that they be printed in the Congressional 
Record for the advice of the Senate.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the Act S. 783, as ordered 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):

                    Public Law 95-495--95th Congress

   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) * * *
          * * * * * * *
          (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) Motorized Portages._The Secretary shall permit the 
operation of motorized vehicles and associated equipment to 
transport boats across the portage 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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