I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1657 
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 
A BILL 
To provide for a land exchange in the Chippewa National 
Forest, Minnesota, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Lake Winnibigoshish 
Land Exchange Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) BWLT.—The term ‘‘BWLT’’ means Big 
Winnie Land and Timber, LLC, a Minnesota Lim-
ited Liability Corporation. 
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(2) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en-
titled ‘‘Proposed Land Exchange - Big Winnie Land 
and Timber LLC and Chippewa National Forest’’ 
and dated January 4, 2023. 
(3) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 
means the approximately 13.8 acres of Federal land 
in Itasca County, Minnesota, generally depicted as 
the ‘‘Federal Parcel for Exchange’’ on the Map. 
(4) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Fed-
eral land’’ means the approximately 38 acres of non- 
Federal land in Itasca County, Minnesota, generally 
depicted as the ‘‘Private Parcel for Exchange’’ on 
the Map. 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 
Chief of the Forest Service. 
SEC. 3. EXCHANGE OF LAND. 
(a) EXCHANGE AUTHORIZED.—Subject to the provi-
sions of this Act, if BWLT offers to convey the non-Fed-
eral land to the United States, the Secretary shall, not 
later than 180 days after receiving the offer— 
(1) accept the offer; 
(2) convey to BWLT all right, title, and inter-
est of the United States in and to the Federal land; 
and 
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(3) accept from BWLT all right, title, and in-
terest of BWLT in and to the non-Federal land. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The exchange under sub-
section (a) shall be— 
(1) subject to valid existing rights; and 
(2) conditioned on a cash equalization payment 
made by BWLT to the United States in accordance 
with subsection (c) if, under the appraisals con-
ducted in accordance with this Act, it is determined 
that the value of the Federal land exceeds the value 
of the non-Federal land. 
(c) EQUAL VALUE AND CASH EQUALIZATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the exchange under subsection (a) shall 
be for equal value or the values shall be equalized 
by a cash payment. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—If the appraised value of the 
non-Federal land conveyed to the Secretary exceeds 
the appraised value of the Federal land, a cash 
equalization payment by the United States to 
BWLT is hereby waived and the amount of such 
waived payment shall be considered a donation by 
BWLT to the United States for all purposes of law. 
(d) APPRAISALS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The value of the land to be 
exchanged under this Act shall be determined by ap-
praisals conducted by one or more independent and 
qualified appraisers mutually agreed to by the Sec-
retary and BWLT. 
(2) APPRAISAL
STANDARDS.—The Secretary 
shall complete an appraisal of the land to be ex-
changed under this Act in accordance with— 
(A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 
Federal Land Acquisitions; and 
(B) the Uniform Standards of Professional 
Appraisal Practice. 
(e) FORMAT.—Title to the non-Federal land to be 
conveyed to the Secretary under this Act shall be in a for-
mat acceptable to the Secretary. 
(f) MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED LAND.—The land 
acquired by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall be— 
(1) added to, and managed as part of, the 
Chippewa National Forest; and 
(2) managed in accordance with the laws, rules, 
and regulations pertaining to National Forest Sys-
tem lands. 
(g) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
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shall finalize a Map and legal descriptions of all land 
to be conveyed under this Act. 
(2) CONTROLLING DOCUMENT.—In the case of 
a discrepancy between the Map and a legal descrip-
tion, the Map shall control. 
(3) CORRECTIONS.—The Secretary and BWLT, 
by mutual agreement, may correct any minor errors 
in the Map or in the legal descriptions, including 
with respect to the boundaries of the Federal land 
parcel and the non-Federal land parcel. 
(4) MAP ON FILE.—The Map and legal descrip-
tions shall be on file and available for public inspec-
tion in appropriate offices of the Forest Service. 
Æ 
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