79–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 115–470 

TO MODIFY THE BOUNDARY OF VOYAGEURS NATIONAL 

PARK IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA, AND FOR OTHER 

PURPOSES 

DECEMBER 18, 2017.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1350] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1350) to modify the boundary of Voyageurs National Park 

in the State of Minnesota, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 

recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 1350 is to modify the boundary of Voyageurs 

National Park in the State of Minnesota. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Voyageurs National Park, established in 1975, is a 218,200-acre 

national park located on the northern edge of Minnesota’s border 

with Canada. The name Voyageurs commemorates the French-Canadian fur traders who were the first European settlers to frequently travel through the area. The Kabetogama Peninsula, which 

lies entirely within the Park and makes up most of its land area, 

is accessible only by boat. The Park is notable for its remarkable 

water resources and islands and is popular with canoeists, 

kayakers, other boaters, and fishermen. 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) currently manages 

lands within the boundaries of the Park that were not transferred 

to the National Park Service (NPS) when the Park was established. 

H.R. 1350 formally transfers these BLM lands to the NPS. EnactVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:20 Dec 19, 2017 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR470.XXX HR470
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ment of the legislation is expected to save agency time and taxpayer money by eliminating duplicative land management. In addition, this legislation resolves an outstanding land management 

issue faced by the State of Minnesota and Koochiching County by 

authorizing a land exchange between the State of Minnesota and 

NPS for certain State tax-forfeited tracts within the boundaries of 

Voyageurs National Park for an NPS-owned tract outside the Park 

boundary. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1350 was introduced on March 2, 2017, by Congressman 

Richard M. Nolan (D–MN). The bill was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On December 12, 2017, the Natural 

Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee 

was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of 

Representatives by unanimous consent on December 13, 2017. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

ACT

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 308(a) and 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 

received the following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, December 18, 2017. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1350, a bill to modify the 

boundary of Voyageurs National Park in the State of Minnesota, 

and for other purposes. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani Shankaran. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

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H.R. 1350—A bill to modify the boundary of Voyageurs National 

Park in the State of Minnesota, and for other purposes 

H.R. 1350 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to 

acquire and integrate new lands into the Voyageurs National Park 

in Minnesota through land exchanges with the state and local governments that own land within or adjacent to the park’s boundaries. (Under current law, the federal government can only acquire 

lands from state or local governments through donation.) The bill 

also would authorize the transfer of administrative jurisdiction 

over certain lands within the park from the Bureau of Land Management to the NPS. 

CBO expects that the properties to be exchanged by the NPS and 

the state and local governments under H.R. 1350 would be roughly 

equal in value. If the appraisals indicate that the parcels’ values 

are different, however, existing law requires that the party receiving the more valuable land provide a cash equalization payment. 

If the NPS were to acquire land of a higher value than the federal 

land exchanged, CBO expects that the NPS would make a cash 

payment. Using information from the NPS, CBO expects that any 

costs to make any cash payment and to administer lands affected 

by the bill would not exceed $500,000 in any year; such spending 

would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting H.R. 1350 could affect direct spending; therefore; payas-you-go procedures apply. Under the bill, if the NPS were to acquire land of a lower value than the federal land exchanged, the 

NPS would receive a cash payment to equalize the values; any such 

payments would be recorded as offsetting receipts, which are treated as reductions in direct spending. Using information from the 

NPS, however, CBO estimates that any such payment would not 

exceed $500,000 in any year. Enacting H.R. 1350 would not affect 

revenues. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1350 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 1350 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

On April 7, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 502 as 

ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources on March 30, 2017. The bills are similar, and CBO’s estimates of the budgetary effects are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani Shankaran. 

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to modify the boundary of Voyageurs National Park 

in the State of Minnesota. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

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COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4 

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5 

Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) 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, 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

PUBLIC LAW 91–661 

AN ACT To authorize the establishment of the Voyageurs National Park in the 

State of Minnesota, and for other purposes. 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 102. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, 

the park shall include the lands and waters within the boundaries 

as generally depicted on øthe drawing entitled ‘‘A Proposed Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota,’’ numbered LXPMJV–VOYA– 

1001, dated February 1969¿ the map entitled ‘‘Voyageurs National 

Park, Proposed Land Transfer & Boundary Adjustment’’, numbered 

172/80,056, and dated June 2009 (22 sheets), which shall be on file 

and available for public inspection in the offices of the National 

Park Service, Department of the Interior. Within one year after acquisition of the lands owned by the State of Minnesota and its political subdivisions within the boundaries of the park the Secretary 

shall affix to such ødrawing¿ map an exact legal description of said 

boundaries. The Secretary may revise the boundaries of the park 

from time to time by publishing in the Federal Register a revised 

ødrawing¿ map or other boundary description, by more than one 

thousand acres, but such revisions shall not increase the land acreage within the park by more than one thousand acres. 

(b)(1) In addition to such revisions as the Secretary may make 

in the boundaries of the park from time to time pursuant to other 

provisions of law, the Secretary may, according to the provisions of 

subsection (a)— 

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(A) delete approximately 782 acres in the Neil Point area of 

the park; 

(B) add approximately 180 acres in the Black Bay Narrows 

areas of the park; 

(C) add approximately 18.45 acres owned by the State of 

Minnesota at the Kabetogama Forestry Station; 

(D) add approximately 120 acres owned by the State of Minnesota, being a strip of land through that portion of section 1, 

township 68 north, range 20 west, fourth principal meridian, 

which is parallel to and 400 feet on both sides of the unimproved road extending northward from the Ash River Trail as 

such road crosses each section; and 

(E) subject to the provisions of paragraph (21, delete approximately 1,000 acres at Black Bay and convey such lands to the 

State of Minnesota.All of the aforementioned boundary changes 

if accomplished shall be accomplished such that the boundary 

of the park shall conform to that generally depicted on the 

drawing entitled ‘‘Boundary, Voyageurs National Park, United 

States Department of the Interior, National Park Service’’, 

numbered 172-80, OO8-MWR, and dated November 1981, 

which shall be on file and available for public inspection in the 

offices of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. 

(2) The Secretary may not delete or convey the lands referred to 

in paragraph (l)(E) unless, prior to or simultaneously with such deletion or conveyance and in consideration of such conveyance, the 

State of Minnesota— 

(A) tenders a conveyance of the lands described in øparagraph (1)(C) and (D)¿ subparagraphs (C) and (D) of paragraph 

(1) to the United States by such instrument and in such manner as are satisfactory to the Secretary, including but not limited to lease or easement: Provided, That if the interest conveyed is a lease or easement, the State of Minnesota shall substitute therefore a transfer of all right, title, and interest in the 

land by June 30, 1987: Provided further, That if the State does 

not transfer all right, title, and interest in such lands by June 

30, 1987, the land described in øparagraph 1(E)¿ paragraph 

(1)(E) shall revert to the United States for administration by 

the Secretary as part of the park; and 

(B) enters into a recordable agreement satisfactory to the 

Secretary which provides that— 

(i) the State has established a wildlife management area 

in the area authorized to be deleted and conveyed to the 

State by paragraph (l)(E); 

(ii) the State has prepared a plan acceptable to the Secretary to manage all the waters of and State lands riparian to Black Bay (including all of the State-owned lands 

and waters of Rainy Lake) to preserve the natural resources of the area so as to complement to the fullest extent possible the purposes for which the park was established; 

(iii) the State shall not transfer any right, title, or interest in, or control over, any land described in paragraph 

(l)(E) to any person other than the Secretary; and 

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(iv) the State shall permit access by the Secretary at 

reasonable times to the land described in paragraph (l)(E). 

(3) If at any time the State fails to comply with the material requirements of the agreement referred to in paragraph (2)(B), all 

right, title, and interest in the land described in paragraph (1)(E) 

shall revert to the United States for administration by the Secretary as part of the park. Such reversion shall take effect upon the 

delivery by the Secretary of notice to the State respecting such failure to comply without further notice or requirement for physical 

entry by the Secretary unless an action for judicial review is 

brought in the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate 

circuit within ninety days following such notice. In any such action 

the court may issue such orders as are appropriate to carry out the 

requirements of this subsection. 

øLAND ACQUISITION

øSEC. 201. (a) The Secretary¿ 

SEC. 201. LAND ACQUISITIONS. 

(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may acquire lands or interests therein within the boundaries of the park by donation, 

purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange. 

øWhen any tract of land is only partly within such boundaries¿ 

(2) CERTAIN PORTIONS OF TRACTS.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which only a portion of 

a tract of land is within the boundaries of the park, the 

Secretary may acquire all or any portion of the land outside of such boundaries in order to minimize the payment 

of severance costs. øLand so acquired¿ 

(B) EXCHANGE.— 

(i) IN GENERAL.—Any land acquired pursuant to subparagraph (A) outside of the park boundaries may be 

exchanged by the Secretary for non-Federal lands 

within the park boundaries. øAny portion¿ 

(ii) PORTIONS NOT EXCHANGED.—Any portion of land 

acquired outside the park boundaries and not utilized 

for exchange shall be reported to the General Services 

Administration for disposal under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 

377), as amended. øAny Federal property¿ 

(C) TRANSFERS OF FEDERAL PROPERTY.—Any Federal 

property located within the boundaries of the park may be 

transferred without consideration to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for the purposes of the park. 

øLands within the boundaries of the park owned by the 

State of Minnesota, or any political subdivision thereof, 

may be acquired only by donation.¿ 

(D) ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION.—Effective beginning 

on the date of enactment of this subparagraph, there is 

transferred to the National Park Service administrative jurisdiction over— 

(i) any land managed by the Bureau of Land Management within the boundaries of the park, as depicted 

on the map described in section 102(a); and 

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(ii) any additional public land identified by the Bureau of Land Management as appropriate for transfer 

within the boundaries of the park. 

(E) LAND OWNED BY STATE.— (i) DONATIONS AND EXCHANGES.—Any land located 

within or adjacent to the boundaries of the park that 

is owned by the State of Minnesota (or a political subdivision of the State) may be acquired by the Secretary 

only through donation or exchange. 

(ii) REVISION.—On completion of an acquisition from 

the State under clause (i), the Secretary shall revise the 

boundaries of the park to reflect the acquisition. 

ø(b) In exercising his¿ (b) OFFERS BY INDIVIDUALS.—In exercising 

the authority to acquire property under this section, the Secretary 

shall give immediate and careful consideration to any offer made 

by any individual owning property within the park area to sell 

such property to the Secretary. In considering such offer, the Secretary shall take into consideration any hardship to the owner 

which might result from any undue delay in acquiring his property. 

* * * * * * * 

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