To enhance the conservation and protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Voyageurs National Park.

 

1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2. tives of the United States of America,
3. SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
4. This Act may be cited as the "Minnesota National
5. Treasures Conservation and Protection Act"
6. Sec. 2. FINDINGS.
7. The Congress finds that—
8. (1) Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary
9. Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are special natural

2.

1. resources that offer a unique lakeland experience for
2. the enjoyment and inspiration of present and future
3. generations;
4. (2) Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary
5. Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are international, na-
6. tional and Minnesota treasures worthy of national
7. preservation and protection as a national park and
8. a wilderness area;
9. (3) Congress has expressed overwhelming sup-
10. port for the protection of these resources through
11. their designation as a national park and wilderness
12. area and by providing sustained funding to imple-
13. ment these landmark laws;
14. (4)public acceptance and enthusiasm for the
15. Boundary Waters Canoe area Wilderness has estab-
16. lished the area as the most widely used wilderness
17. unit in the entire national wilderness preservation
18. system; and
19. (5) it is necessary and desirable to further pro-
20. vide for the orderly administration and management
21. of public use and enjoyment of these national areas,
22. while at the same time protecting the special quali-
23. ties of the areas as a natural forest-lakeland wilder-
24. ness ecosystem of major esthetic, cultural, scientific,
25. recreational and educational value to the Nation.

3.

1. TITLE I —THE BOUNDARY WA-
2. TERS CANOE AREA WILDER-
3. NESS PRESERVATION
4. SEC. 101. BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS
5. DESIGNATION AND MAP.
6. Section 3 of Public Law 94-495 (16 U.S.C. 1132
7. note) is amended as follows—
8. (1) by amending the first sentence to read as
9. follows: "The areas generally depicted as wilderness
10. on the map entitled 'Boundary Waters Canoe Area
11. Wilderness' and dated 1996, comprising approxi-
12. mately 1,101,000 acres, are hereby designated as
13. the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (here-
14. inafter referred to as the 'Wilderness').";
15. (2) by striking "one year after the date of en-
16. actment of this Act" and insert "one year after the
17. enactment of the Minnesota National Treasures
18. Conservation and Protection Act"; and
19. (3) by amending the third sentence to read as
20. follows: "Such map and description shall be filed
21. with the Committee on Resources of the House of
22. Representatives and the Committee on Energy and
23. Natural Resources of the United States Senate."
    

4.

1. SEC. 102. AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 4 OF PUBLIC LAW 95-
2. 495.
3. Section 4 of Public Law 95-495 is amended as fol-
4. lows:
5. (1) In subsection (G)(1), by striking "Basswood,
6. except that portion generally north of the narrows at
7. the north end of Jackfish Bay and north of a point
8. on the international boundary between Ottawa Is-
9. land and Washington Island" and inserting in lieu
10. thereof: "Pipestone Bay of Basswood and that por-
11. tion of Jackfish Bay of Basswood generally south of
12. the narrows at the north end of Jackfish Bay;".
13. (2) In the subsection (d), by striking "Loon Lake,
14. Saint Louis County, that portion of the Lac La
15. Croix, Saint Louis County, south of Snow Bay and
16. East of Wilkins Bay.".
17. SEC. 103. AIRSPACE RESERVATION.
18. The provisions of Executive Order 10092 shall be ap-
19. plicable to the areas depicted on the map referred to in
20. section 101 of this Act.
21. TITLE II— THE VOYAGEURS NA-
22. TIONAL PARK PRESERVATION
23. ACT
24. SEC: 201. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREA.
25. In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act
26. (1 6 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), land and waters of the

5.

1. Kabetogama Peninsula within Voyageurs National Park
2. in the State of Minnesota, which comprise approximately
3. 74,114 acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled
4. "Voyageurs National Park Wilderness", numbered
5. ___________and dated ____________ are hereby designated
6. as wilderness and shall be known as the "Voyageurs Na-
7. tional Park Wilderness".
8. SEC, 202. MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.
9. As soon as practicable after enactment of this Act,
10. a map and legal description of the wilderness area des-
11. ignated in section 201 shall be filed by the Secretary of
12. the Interior with the Committee on Resources of the Unit-
13. ed States House of Representatives and the Committee
14. on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States
15. Senate. Such map and legal description shall have the
16. same force and effect as if included in this Act, except
17. that correction of clerical and typographical errors in such
18. map and legal description may be made. Such map and
19. legal description shall be on file and available for public
20. inspection in the office of the Director of the National
21. Park Service, Department of the Interior, and in the office
22. of the Superintendent of Voyageurs National Park.
23. SEC. 203. ADMINISTRATION.
24. Subject to valid existing rights, the area designated
25. as wilderness by section 201 shall be administered by the
    

6.

1. Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the applicable
2. Provisions of the Wilderness Act governing areas so des-
3. ignated. The Secretary shall continue to Provide for the
4. use of existing safety portages, for snowmobiles, as de-
5. picted on the map referred to in section 201.