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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5544 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5544

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 13, 2012

  Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
  To authorize and expedite a land exchange involving National Forest 
System land in the Laurentian District of the Superior National Forest 
and certain other National Forest System land in the State of Minnesota 
  that has limited recreational and conservation resources and lands 
 owned by the State of Minnesota in trust for the public school system 
that are largely scattered in checkerboard fashion within the Boundary 
 Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and have important recreational, scenic, 
          and conservation resources, 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 ``Minnesota Education Investment and 
Employment Act''.

SEC. 2. LAND EXCHANGE, BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS AND 
              SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST, MINNESOTA.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The State of Minnesota owns multiple parcels of land in 
        the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in the Superior 
        National Forest that were granted to the State through sections 
        16 and 36 of the Enabling Act of 1857 to be held in trust for 
        the benefit of the public school system in the State (in this 
        section referred to as ``State trust lands'').
            (2) The State trust lands were acquired by the State long 
        before the establishment of either the National Forest System 
        or the wilderness area and are scattered in a largely 
        checkerboard fashion amid the Superior National Forest and the 
        wilderness area.
            (3) The presence of State trust lands in the wilderness 
        area makes land and resource management in the wilderness area 
        more difficult, costly, and controversial for the United States 
        and the State.
            (4) Although the State trust lands were granted to the 
        State to generate financial support for the public school 
        system through the sale or development of natural resources, 
        development of those resources in the wilderness area may be 
        incompatible with managing the wilderness area for 
        recreational, natural, and conservation purposes.
            (5) The United States owns land and interests in land in 
        other parts of the State that can be transferred to the State 
        in exchange for the State trust lands without jeopardizing 
        Federal management objectives or needs.
            (6) It is in the public interest to exchange, on terms that 
        are fair to the United States and the State, National Forest 
        System land in the State that has limited recreational and 
        conservation resources for State trust lands located in the 
        wilderness area with important recreational, scenic, and 
        conservation resources for permanent public management and use.
            (7) The Legislature of the State of Minnesota, meeting in 
        its 87th Legislative Session, passed (and on April 27, 2012, 
        the Governor of Minnesota approved) S.F No. 1750 (Chapter 236), 
        section 4 of which adds section 92.80 to the Minnesota Statutes 
        to expedite the exchange of a portion of the State trust lands 
        located within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
    (b) Land Exchange Required.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
consummate a land exchange with the State of Minnesota pursuant to 
section 4 of S.F No. 1750 (Chapter 236) of the Legislature of the State 
of Minnesota (section 92.80 of the Minnesota Statutes) to acquire all 
right, title, and interest of the State in and to certain State trust 
lands identified as provided in such section in exchange for all right, 
title, and interest of the United States in and to National Forest 
System land in the State for inclusion in the State trust lands.
    (c) Valuation of Lands for Exchange.--Subdivision 4 of section 4 of 
S.F No. 1750 (Chapter 236) of the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
(section 92.80 of the Minnesota Statutes) shall control for purposes of 
the examination and value determination of the lands to be exchanged.
    (d) Survey and Administrative Costs.--The exact acreage and legal 
description of the land to be exchanged under subsection (b) shall be 
determined by a survey satisfactory to the Secretary. The State of 
Minnesota shall be responsible for the costs of the survey and all 
other administrative costs related to the land exchange.
    (e) Boundaries and Management of Acquired Land.--
            (1) Land acquired by secretary.--
                    (A) In general.--The land acquired by the Secretary 
                under subsection (b) shall be added to and administered 
                as part of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness 
                established pursuant to section 3 of the Wilderness Act 
                (16 U.S.C. 1132(a)), and the Secretary shall modify the 
                boundaries of the wilderness area to reflect inclusion 
                of the acquired lands. Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                land acquired by the Secretary shall be managed in 
                accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 
                seq.) and other laws and regulations applicable to the 
                National Wilderness Preservation System.
                    (B) No effect on existing fishing and hunting 
                rights.--The acquisition of land by the United States 
                under subsection (b) and inclusion of the land in the 
                Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness shall not alter 
                or otherwise affect--
                            (i) any fishing and hunting rights in 
                        existence with respect to the land immediately 
                        before the conveyance of the land to the United 
                        States; or
                            (ii) the use of such rights after 
                        conveyance.
            (2) Land acquired by state.--The land acquired by the State 
        of Minnesota under subsection (b) shall be deemed to be State 
        trust lands and shall be held in trust for the benefit of the 
        public school system in the State. It is the sense of Congress 
        that, whenever the land acquired by the State of Minnesota 
        under subsection (b) is not being used for revenue-generating 
        activities, the State should make the land available for other 
        compatible uses, including hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, 
        snowmobiling, and trail riding.
            (3) Boundaries of superior national forest.--The Secretary 
        shall modify the boundaries of the Superior National Forest to 
        reflect the land exchange conducted under this section.
    (f) Relation to Other Laws.--
            (1) Land and water conservation fund act.--For purposes of 
        section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 
        (16 U.S.C. 460l-9), the boundaries of the Superior National 
        Forest, as modified by subsection (e)(3), shall be considered 
        to be boundaries of the Superior National Forest as of January 
        1, 1965.
            (2) Not a major federal action.--The land exchange 
        conducted under this section shall not be considered to be a 
        major Federal action.
            (3) Thye-blatnik act.--The Secretary shall not take into 
        consideration the lands acquired by the United States under 
        this Act in determining the appraised value of National Forest 
        System lands in the State of Minnesota used for purposes of 
        making payments to the State of Minnesota under the Act of June 
        22, 1948, and the Act of June 22, 1956 (commonly known as the 
        Thye-Blatnik Act and Humphrey-Thye-Blatnik-Andresen Act; 16 
        U.S.C. 577c through 577h).
    (g) No Impact on Other Land Exchanges.--The land exchange described 
in subsection (b) does not affect any land exchange involving National 
Forest System land in the State of Minnesota underway as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
    (h) Report.--If the Secretary fails to complete the land exchange 
described in subsection (b) before the end of the 18-month period 
beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress, not later than 30 days after the end of such 
period, a report--
            (1) specifying the reasons why the exchange has not been 
        completed; and
            (2) stating the date by which the Secretary anticipates the 
        conveyance will be completed.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 12, 2012.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.
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