II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 109 

To designate the Beaver Basin Wilderness at Pictured Rocks National 

Lakeshore in the State of Michigan. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mr. LEVIN (for himself and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate the Beaver Basin Wilderness at Pictured Rocks 

National Lakeshore in the State of Michigan. 

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 ‘‘Beaver Basin Wilder5 ness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) since 1981, the National Park Service has 

9 managed the land designated as the Beaver Basin 


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1 Wilderness by section 4(a) as a backcountry and wil2 derness area; 

3 (2) the land designated by section 4(a) as the 

4 Wilderness comprises approximately 16 percent of 

5 the area of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore; 

6 (3) the decision to propose this portion of the 

7 National Lakeshore as wilderness was made after 5 

8 years of planning, which involved extensive public in9 volvement and culminated in the approval of a new 

10 general management plan in 2004; and 

11 (4) the fundamental manner in which the land 

12 designated as Wilderness by section 4(a) is managed 

13 for purposes of access, public use, and enjoyment 

14 will not change as a result of this designation. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) LINE OF DEMARCATION.—The term ‘‘line of 

18 demarcation’’ means the point on the bank or shore 

19 at which the surface waters of Lake Superior meet 

20 the land or sand beach, regardless of the level of 

21 Lake Superior. 

22 (2) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en23 titled ‘‘Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Beaver 

24 Basin Wilderness Boundary’’, numbered 625/80,051, 

25 and dated April 16, 2007. 


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1 (3) NATIONAL LAKESHORE.—The term ‘‘Na2 tional Lakeshore’’ means the Pictured Rocks Na3 tional Lakeshore. 

4 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of the Interior. 

6 (5) WILDERNESS.—The term ‘‘Wilderness’’ 

7 means the Beaver Basin Wilderness designated by 

8 section 4(a). 

9 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF BEAVER BASIN WILDERNESS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the Wilderness 

11 Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the land described in sub12 section (b) is designated as wilderness and as a component 

13 of the National Wilderness Preservation System, to be 

14 known as the ‘‘Beaver Basin Wilderness’’. 

15 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The land referred to in 

16 subsection (a) is the land and inland water comprising ap17 proximately 11,740 acres within the National Lakeshore, 

18 as generally depicted on the map. 

19 (c) BOUNDARY.— 

20 (1) LINE OF DEMARCATION.—The line of de21 marcation shall be the boundary for any portion of 

22 the Wilderness that is bordered by Lake Superior. 

23 (2) SURFACE WATER.—The surface water of 

24 Lake Superior, regardless of the fluctuating lake 


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1 level, shall be considered to be outside the boundary 

2 of the Wilderness. 

3 (d) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 

4 (1) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be 

5 on file and available for public inspection in the ap6 propriate offices of the National Park Service. 

7 (2) LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—As soon as prac8 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 

10 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com11 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep12 resentatives a legal description of the boundary of 

13 the Wilderness. 

14 (3) FORCE AND EFFECT.—The map and the 

15 legal description submitted under paragraph (2) 

16 shall have the same force and effect as if included 

17 in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct 

18 any clerical or typographical errors in the map and 

19 legal description. 

20 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION. 

21 (a) MANAGEMENT.—Subject to valid existing rights, 

22 the Wilderness shall be administered by the Secretary in 

23 accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

24 seq.), except that— 


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1 (1) any reference in that Act to the effective 

2 date of that Act shall be considered to be a reference 

3 to the date of enactment of this Act; and 

4 (2) with respect to land administered by the 

5 Secretary, any reference in that Act to the Secretary 

6 of Agriculture shall be considered to be a reference 

7 to the Secretary. 

8 (b) USE OF ELECTRIC MOTORS.—The use of boats 

9 powered by electric motors on Little Beaver and Big Bea10 ver Lakes may continue, subject to any applicable laws 

11 (including regulations). 

12 SEC. 6. EFFECT. 

13 Nothing in this Act— 

14 (1) modifies, alters, or affects any treaty rights; 

15 (2) alters the management of the water of Lake 

16 Superior within the boundary of the Pictured Rocks 

17 National Lakeshore in existence on the date of en18 actment of this Act; and 

19 (3) prohibits— 

20 (A) the use of motors on the surface water 

21 of Lake Superior adjacent to the Wilderness; or 

22 (B) the beaching of motorboats at the line 

23 of demarcation. 

Æ 


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