I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3470
To enhance the conservation and protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness and the Voyageurs National Park.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 16, 1996
Mr. VENTO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources
A BILL
To enhance the conservation and protection of the Boundary
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Voyageurs Na-
tional Park.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Minnesota National
Treasures Conservation and Protection Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are special natural
resources that offer a unique lakeland experience for
the enjoyment and inspiration of present and future
generations;
(2) Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary
Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are international, na-
tional, and Minnesota treasures worthy of national
preservation and protection as a national park and
a wilderness area;
(3) Congress has expressed overwhelming sup-
port for the protection of these resources through
their designation as a national park and wilderness
area and by providing sustained funding to imple-
ment these landmark laws;
(4) public acceptance and enthusiasm for the
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has estab-
lished the area as the most widely used wilderness
unit in the entire national wilderness preservation
system; and
(5) it is necessary and desirable to further pro-
vide for the orderly administration and management
of public use and enjoyment of these national areas,
while at the same time protecting the special quali-
ties of the areas as a natural forest-lakeland wilder-
ness ecosystem of major esthetic, cultural, scientific,
recreational and educational value to the Nation.
TITLE I—THE BOUNDARY WA-
TERS CANOE AREA WILDER-
NESS PRESERVATION
SEC. 101. BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS
DESIGNATION AND MAP.
Section 3 of Public Law 94–495 (16 U.S.C. 1132
note) is amended as follows—
(1) by amending the first sentence to read as
follows: ‘‘The areas generally depicted as wilderness
on the map entitled ‘Boundary Waters Canoe Area
Wilderness’ and dated 1996, comprising approxi-
mately 1,101,000 acres, are hereby designated as
the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (here-
inafter referred to as the ‘Wilderness’).’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘one year after the date of en-
actment of this Act’’ and insert ‘‘one year after the
enactment of the Minnesota National Treasures
Conservation and Protection Act’’; and
(3) by amending the third sentence to read as
follows: ‘‘Such map and description shall be filed
with the Committee on Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the United States Senate.’’.
SEC. 102. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 4 OF PUBLIC LAW 95–
495.
Section 4 of Public Law 95–495 is amended as fol-
lows:
(1) In subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘Basswood,
except that portion generally north of the narrows at
the north end of Jackfish Bay and north of a point
on the international boundary between Ottawa Is-
land and Washington Island’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof: ‘‘Pipestone Bay of Basswood and that por-
tion of Jackfish Bay of Basswood generally south of
the narrows at the north end of Jackfish Bay;’’.
(2) In subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Loon Lake,
Saint Louis County; that portion of the Lac La
Croix, Saint Louis County, south of Snow Bay and
east of Wilkins Bay.’’.
SEC. 103. AIRSPACE RESERVATION.
The provisions of Executive Order 10092 shall be ap-
plicable to the areas depicted on the map referred to in
section 101 of this Act.
TITLE II—THE VOYAGEURS NA-
TIONAL PARK PRESERVATION
ACT
SEC. 201. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREA.
In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act
(16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), land and waters of the
Kabetogama Peninsula within Voyageurs National Park
in the State of Minnesota, which comprise approximately
74,114 acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled
‘‘Voyaguers 
National 
Park 
Wilderness’’, 
numbered
lllll and dated lllll are hereby designated
as wilderness and shall be known as the ‘‘Voyageurs Na-
tional Park Wilderness’’.
SEC. 202. MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.
As soon as practicable after enactment of this Act,
a map and legal description of the wilderness area des-
ignated in section 201 shall be filed by the Secretary of
the Interior with the Committee on Resources of the Unit-
ed States House of Representatives and the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States
Senate. Such map and legal description shall have the
same force and effect as if included in this Act, except
that correction of clerical and typographical errors in such
map and legal description may be made. Such map and
legal description shall be on file and available for public
inspection in the office of the Director of the National
Park Service, Department of the Interior, and in the office
of the Superintendent of Voyageurs National Park.
SEC. 203. ADMINISTRATION.
Subject to valid existing rights, the area designated
as wilderness by section 201 shall be administered by the
Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the applicable
provisions of the Wilderness Act governing areas so des-
ignated. The Secretary shall continue to provide for the
use of existing safety portages for snowmobiles, as de-
picted on the map referred to in section 201.
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