I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1990

To provide for the exchange of certain lands in the Superior National Forest

for certain lands owned by Cook County, Lake County, and St. Louis

County, Minnesota, in the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 30, 1995

Mr. OBERSTAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture,

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the

committee concerned

A BILL

To provide for the exchange of certain lands in the Superior

National Forest for certain lands owned by Cook County,

Lake County, and St. Louis County, Minnesota, in the

Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Superior National For5 est Resort Special Use Permit Land Exchange Act of

6 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that to provide

3 for the increased ownership, continued protection, en4 hancement, and preservation of the natural values of the

5 lakes, waterways, and associated forested areas within the

6 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and to enable

7 Cook County, Lake County, and St. Louis County, Min8 nesota, to more effectively manage certain commercially

9 developed lands in the Superior National Forest (and thus

10 relieve the United States from the cost and responsibility

11 for such management), an exchange of lands between the

12 United States and such counties is in the public interest.

13 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pro14 vide for the transfer of—

15 (1) certain Federal lands within the Cook

16 County portion of the Superior National Forest (ap17 proximately 36.28 acres) to Cook County in ex18 change for the transfer to Federal ownership of

19 lands of equal value owned by Cook County in the

20 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness;

21 (2) certain Federal lands within the Lake

22 County portion of the Superior National Forest (ap23 proximately 20 acres) to Lake County in exchange

24 for the transfer to Federal ownership of lands of

25 equal value owned by Lake County in the Boundary

26 Waters Canoe Area Wilderness; and
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1 (3) certain Federal lands within the St. Louis

2 County portion of the Superior National Forest (ap3 proximately 30.81 acres) to St. Louis County in ex4 change for the transfer to Federal ownership of

5 lands of equal value owned by St. Louis County in

6 the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

7 SEC. 3. LAND EXCHANGE, BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA

8 WILDERNESS AND SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOR9 EST, MINNESOTA.

10 (a) ACCEPTANCE OF COUNTY LANDS.—The Sec11 retary of Agriculture shall accept on behalf of the United

12 States, fee title to certain selected Cook County, Lake

13 County, and St. Louis County, Minnesota, lands and in14 terests, respectively for each county, within the Boundary

15 Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, consisting of all rights,

16 excluding mineral interests reserved in the State of Min17 nesota or by prior reservation in private parties, such

18 lands to be selected by the Secretary from parcels de19 scribed on the map entitled ‘‘Boundary Waters Canoe

20 Area Wilderness—Additions’’, dated January 1992, hav21 ing a market value equal to or greater than the National

22 Forest System lands in each respective county as de23 scribed in subsections (b), (c), and (d), in exchange for

24 such National Forest System lands. Title may be conveyed

25 by quit claim deed but must otherwise comply with the
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1 Department of Justice title standards as set forth in the

2 ‘‘Standards for the Preparation of Title Evidence In Land

3 Acquisitions by the United States’’.

4 (b) CONVEYANCE OF FOREST SYSTEM LANDS TO

5 COOK COUNTY.—(1) Upon acceptance by the Secretary of

6 the Cook County lands and interests therein referred to

7 in subsection (a), the Secretary shall convey to Cook

8 County the four federally owned parcels of land within the

9 boundaries of the Superior National Forest in Minnesota

10 described in paragraph (2). The conveyance shall be sub11 ject to valid existing rights and any deed restrictions and

12 reservations as the Secretary may prescribe pursuant to

13 section 4(c), as follows:

14 (A) For lands which had been previously pat15 ented from the United States, the Secretary shall

16 convey such lands to Cook County by quit claim

17 deed.

18 (B) For lands which have never been previously

19 patented, the Secretary of the Interior shall convey

20 such lands by patent at the request of the Secretary.

21 (2) The federally owned lands to be conveyed to Cook

22 County pursuant to paragraph (1) are generally described

23 as follows:

24 (A) T64N–R1W, Section 11, Parts of Lots 15

25 and 17; Section 12, Parts of Lot 3, 4th P.M., as
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1 described in Special Use Permit to Bearskin

2 Lodge—David Tuttle, including all lands lying be3 tween the described parcel and the shores of East

4 Bearskin Lake. Approximately 19.1 acres.

5 (B) T64N–R1W, section 4, Part of Lots 10 and

6 11, 4th P.M., as described in Special Use Permit to

7 Gateway Hungry Jack Lodge—Hungry Jack, Inc.,

8 Gerald Parson, President, including all lands lying

9 between the described parcel and the shores of Hun10 gry Jack Lake. Approximately 6.42 acres.

11 (C) T64N–R1W, Section 1, Part of Lot 19, 4th

12 P.M., as described in Special Use Permit to Golden

13 Eagle Lodge—Golden Eagle Lodge, Inc., including

14 all lands lying between the described parcel and the

15 shores of Flour Lake. Approximately 7.4 acres.

(D) T62N–R4W, Section 7, Part of E1⁄2 SW1 16 ⁄4,

17 4th P.M., as described in Special Use Permit to

18 Sawbil Canoe Outfitters—Frank & Mary Alice Han19 sen. Approximately 3.36 acres.

20 (c) CONVEYANCE OF FOREST SYSTEM LANDS TO

21 LAKE COUNTY.—(1) Upon acceptance by the Secretary of

22 the Lake County lands and interests therein referred to

23 in subsection (a), the Secretary shall convey to Lake

24 County the two federally owned parcels of land within the

25 boundaries of the Superior National Forest in Minnesota
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1 described in paragraph (2). The conveyance shall be sub2 ject to valid existing rights and any deed restrictions and

3 reservations as the Secretary may prescribe pursuant to

4 section 4(c), as follows:

5 (A) For lands which had been previously pat6 ented from the United States, the Secretary of Agri7 culture shall convey such lands to Lake County by

8 quit claim deed.

9 (B) For lands which have never been previously

10 patented, the Secretary of the Interior shall convey

11 such lands by patent at the request of the Secretary

12 of Agriculture.

13 (2) The federally owned lands to be conveyed to Lake

14 County pursuant to paragraph (1) are generally described

15 as follows:

16 (A) T61N–R11W, Section 30, Part of Lot 8,

17 4th P.M., as described in Special Use Permit to Vic18 tor H. Gunderson, Sharon G. Gunderson and Greg19 ory Gunderson, partners d/b/a Roaring Stony Re20 sort, including all lands lying between the described

21 parcel and the shores of Birch Lake. Approximately

22 3.70 acres.

23 (B) T61N–R11W, Section 6, Part of Lot 10,

24 4th P.M., as described in Special Use Permit to Ste25 ven L. Koschak and Mary Jane Koschak, d/b/a
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1 River Point Resort, including all lands lying between

2 the described parcel and the shore of Birch Lake.

3 Approximately 16.3 acres.

4 (d) CONVEYANCE OF FOREST SYSTEM LANDS TO ST.

5 LOUIS COUNTY.—(1) Upon acceptance by the Secretary

6 of the St. Louis County lands and interests therein re7 ferred to in subsection (a), the Secretary shall convey to

8 St. Louis Country the two federally owned parcels of land

9 within the boundaries of the Superior National Forest in

10 Minnesota described in paragraph (2). The conveyance

11 shall be subject to valid existing rights and any deed re12 strictions and reservations as the Secretary may prescribe

13 pursuant to section 4(c), as follows:

14 (A) For lands which had been previously pat15 ented from the United States, the Secretary shall

16 convey such lands to St. Louis County by quit claim

17 deed.

18 (B) For lands which have never been previously

19 patented, the Secretary of the Interior shall convey

20 such lands by patent at the request of the Secretary.

21 (2) The federally owned lands to be conveyed to St.

22 Louis County pursuant to paragraph (1) are generally de23 scribed as follows:

24 (A) T61N–R12W, Section 31, Part of Lot 7,

25 4th P.M., as described in Special Use Permit to
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1 John D. Rykken and Mayleann T. Rykken, d/b/a

2 Timber Bay Lodge and Houseboats, including all

3 lands lying between the described parcel and the

4 shores of Birch Lake. Approximately 10.81 acres.

5 (B) T65N–R13W, Section 28, Part of Lot 3,

6 4th P.M., as described in Special Use Permit to

7 Garrett G. Alberts and Karen J. Alberts, d/b/a/ Big

8 Lake Wilderness Lodge, including all lands lying be9 tween the described parcel and the shores of Big

10 Lake. Approximately 20.00 acres.

11 (e) OTHER ELEMENTS OF EXCHANGE.—The convey12 ances required by subsections (b), (c), and (d) shall in13 clude such easements as may be necessary for ingress,

14 egress, and utilities between the conveyed property and the

15 nearest State or county road. The property to be conveyed

16 by the Secretary under such subsections shall be surveyed,

17 monumented, and given legally acceptable descriptions by

18 the Secretary prior to conveyance. Parcel descriptions

19 shall include land sufficient to provide minimum 100 foot

20 sideyard and 500 foot backyard setbacks from any build21 ings or septic systems currently located on the premises.

22 Additional land may be added by the Secretary in the Sec23 retary’s sole discretion to help facilitate the exchange, cre24 ate more usable boundaries, or to create a more usable
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1 parcel for the currently permitted business operation on

2 the parcel.

3 SEC. 4. TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

4 (a) EXPENSES.—The United States and Cook Coun5 ty, Lake County, and St. Louis County, respectively, shall

6 each bear the normal expenses associated with the convey7 ance of their respective properties in executing the land

8 exchange under section 3.

9 (b) VALUATION.—The values of the national forest

10 and county lands selected to be exchanged pursuant to this

11 Act shall be determined by an independent fee appraisal

12 to be approximately equal. The independent fee appraiser

13 for land in each county shall be selected by agreement of

14 the respective county and the Secretary, who shall share

15 the cost of such respective appraisal equally.

16 (c) DEED RESTRICTIONS AND RESERVATIONS.—The

17 Secretary shall have full discretion to impose restrictions

18 and reservations, including conservation easements, rea19 sonably necessary in the deeds to the counties to accom20 plish the following:

21 (1) Protect the natural resource values of the

22 National Forest System lands adjacent to the lands

23 described in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section

24 3 by the imposition of restrictions no greater than

25 the following:
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1 (A) New buildings constructed on the

2 premises shall have setbacks as follows:

3 (i) 100 feet from any lake or river.

4 (ii) 50 feet from any side or back lot

5 line or any road centerline.

6 (B) Requiring a minimum lot size equal to

7 the lesser of 5 acres or the size of the parcel

8 conveyed.

9 (C) Improvements on the premises shall be

10 maintained in a good state of repair and the

11 premises shall be kept clean and orderly. No ac12 cumulation or dumping of trash or unsightly

13 materials shall be permitted on the land. Any

14 trash or refuse shall be disposed of as required

15 by State or local laws and regulations.

16 (D) Owners of the land and operators of

17 any business thereon shall comply with all Fed18 eral, State, and local laws and regulations ap19 plicable to the land or any use thereof.

20 (E) Any new or remodeled buildings, or

21 additions thereto, shall be constructed and

22 maintained on the premises in harmony with

23 the color, design, and type of construction of

24 buildings presently located on the lands.
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1 (F) No material shall be disposed of on the

2 land by burning in open fires during any closed

3 season established by law or regulation without

4 a written permit as required by law or regula5 tion.

6 (G) No waste or by-product shall be dis7 carded into any surface water or onto any land

8 surface in violation of Federal, State, or local

9 regulation.

10 (H) The land shall not be used for any

11 purpose other than single family residences, re12 sorts, lodges, outfitters, and normal accessory

13 uses.

14 (2) Preserve any rights-of-way or easements

15 reasonably necessary for public and administrative

16 access to, and management of, adjacent National

17 Forest System lands.

18 (3) Preserve any archaeological sites or valid

19 existing private property rights on the land.

20 (d) MAP.—The map described in section 3 along with

21 legal descriptions of all lands to be conveyed, shall be on

22 file and available for public inspection in the office of the

23 Chief of the Forest Service, United States Department of

24 Agriculture. The maps and legal descriptions shall have

25 the same force and effect as if included in the Act, except
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1 that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical

2 errors.

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