IB 

Union Calendar No. 561 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1657 

[Report No. 118–665] 

To provide for a land exchange in the Chippewa National Forest, Minnesota, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 17, 2023 

Mr. STAUBER (for himself, Mr. FINSTAD, Mrs. FISCHBACH, Mr. HUFFMAN, 

and Mr. NEGUSE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 17, 2023] 


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A BILL 

To provide for a land exchange in the Chippewa National 

Forest, Minnesota, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Lake Winnibigoshish 

5 Land Exchange Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) BWLT.—The term ‘‘BWLT’’ means Big 

9 Winnie Land and Timber, LLC, a Minnesota Lim10 ited Liability Corporation. 

11 (2) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map enti12 tled ‘‘Heig Land Exchange’’ and dated December 14, 

13 2023. 

14 (3) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

15 means the approximately 17.5 acres of Federal land 

16 in Itasca County, Minnesota, generally depicted as 

17 the ‘‘Federal Parcel’’ on the Map. 

18 (4) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Fed19 eral land’’ means the approximately 36.7 acres of 

20 non-Federal land in Itasca County, Minnesota, gen21 erally depicted as the ‘‘Non-Federal Parcel’’ on the 

22 Map. 

23 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief 

25 of the Forest Service. 


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1 SEC. 3. EXCHANGE OF LAND. 

2 (a) EXCHANGE AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the provi3 sions of this Act, if BWLT offers to convey the non-Federal 

4 land to the United States, the Secretary shall, not later than 

5 1 year after the date on which such offer is made— 

6 (1) accept the offer; 

7 (2) convey to BWLT all right, title, and interest 

8 of the United States in and to the Federal land, ex9 cepting and reserving an easement for road access to 

10 National Forest System land west of the Federal Par11 cel; and 

12 (3) accept from BWLT all right, title, and inter13 est of BWLT in and to the non-Federal land. 

14 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The exchange under subsection 

15 (a) shall be— 

16 (1) conditioned on title approval for the non17 Federal land by the Secretary in accordance with sub18 section (e); 

19 (2) conditioned on a cash equalization payment 

20 made by BWLT to the United States in accordance 

21 with subsection (c) if, under the appraisals conducted 

22 in accordance with this Act, it is determined that the 

23 value of the Federal land exceeds the value of the non24 Federal land; 

25 (3) conditioned on the satisfactory completion of 

26 a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment by BWLT, 


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1 provided to the Secretary, in advance of the accept2 ance of the non-Federal parcel; 

3 (4) subject to valid existing rights; and 

4 (5) subject to any other terms and conditions the 

5 Secretary determines appropriate. 

6 (c) EQUAL VALUE AND CASH EQUALIZATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), the exchange under subsection (a) shall be 

9 for equal value or the values shall be equalized by a 

10 cash payment. 

11 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding any other 

12 provision of law, if the appraised value of the non13 Federal land to be conveyed to the United States ex14 ceeds the appraised value of the Federal land, a cash 

15 equalization payment by the United States to BWLT 

16 is hereby waived and the amount of such waived pay17 ment shall be considered a donation by BWLT to the 

18 United States for all purposes of law. 

19 (d) APPRAISALS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The value of the land to be ex21 changed under this Act shall be determined by ap22 praisals conducted by an independent and qualified 

23 appraiser mutually agreed to by the Secretary and 

24 BWLT. 


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1 (2) APPRAISAL STANDARDS.—The Secretary shall 

2 complete appraisals of the land to be exchanged under 

3 this Act in accordance with— 

4 (A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 

5 Federal Land Acquisitions; and 

6 (B) the Uniform Standards of Professional 

7 Appraisal Practice. 

8 (e) FORMAT.—Title to the non-Federal land to be con9 veyed to the United States under this Act shall be found 

10 sufficient by the Secretary pursuant to section 3111 of title 

11 40, United States Code. 

12 (f) MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED LAND.—The non-Fed13 eral land acquired by the United States under subsection 

14 (a) shall be— 

15 (1) added to, and managed as part of, the Chip16 pewa National Forest; and 

17 (2) managed in accordance with the laws, rules, 

18 and regulations pertaining to National Forest System 

19 lands. 

20 (g) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

23 finalize the Map and legal descriptions of all land to 

24 be conveyed under this Act. 


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1 (2) CONTROLLING DOCUMENT.—In the case of a 

2 discrepancy between the Map and a legal description, 

3 the legal description shall control. 

4 (3) CORRECTIONS.—The Secretary and BWLT, 

5 by mutual agreement, may correct any minor errors 

6 in the Map or in the legal descriptions, including 

7 with respect to the boundaries of the Federal land and 

8 the non-Federal land. 

9 (4) MAP ON FILE.—The Map and legal descrip10 tions shall be on file and available for public inspec11 tion in appropriate offices of the Forest Service. 

12 (h) CLOSING COSTS.—As a condition for the exchange 

13 under subsection (a), BWLT shall pay all closing costs asso14 ciated with the exchange, including for— 

15 (1) title insurance and title search; 

16 (2) any applicable inspection fees, escrow fees, 

17 attorneys fees, and recording fees; and 

18 (3) any environmental analysis or resource sur19 vey required under Federal law, regulation, or policy, 

20 including a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment 

21 of the non-Federal land. 

22 (i) SURVEY.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The exact acreages and legal 

24 descriptions of the Federal and non-Federal land to 


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1 be exchanged under subsection (a) shall be determined 

2 by surveys satisfactory to the Secretary. 

3 (2) COSTS OF SURVEY.—BWLT shall bear all 

4 costs associated with the surveys under paragraph 

5 (1). 


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Union Calendar No. 561 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1657 

[Report No. 118–665] 

A BILL 

To provide for a land exchange in the Chippewa 

poses. National Forest, Minnesota, and for other purSEPTEMBER 12, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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