[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8583 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8583
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange certain public lands
in Chippewa National Forest, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 28, 2022
Mr. Stauber (for himself and Mr. Huffman) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange certain public lands
in Chippewa National Forest, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 2022''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) BWLT.--The term ``BWLT'' means Big Winnie Land and
Timber, LLC, a Minnesota Limited Liability Corporation.
(2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the
approximately 7.6 acres of Federal land generally depicted as
the ``Federal Parcel for Exchange'' on the Map.
(3) Map.--The term ``Map'' means sheets 2 and 3 of the map
entitled ``Proposed Land Exchange - Bowen Lodge Inc. and
Chippewa National Forest'' and dated March 30, 2022.
(4) Non-federal land.--The term ``non-Federal land'' means
the approximately 37.5 acres generally depicted as the ``non-
Federal Parcel for Exchange'' on the Map.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
SEC. 3. EXCHANGE OF LAND.
(a) Exchange Authorized.--Subject to the provisions of this Act,
not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, if
BWLT offers to convey the non-Federal land to the United States, the
Secretary shall--
(1) accept the offer and convey to BWLT all right, title,
and interest of the United States in and to the Federal land;
and
(2) accept from BWLT all right, title, and interest of BWLT
in and to the non-Federal land.
(b) Requirements.--The exchange under subsection (a) shall be--
(1) subject to valid existing rights; and
(2) if, under the appraisals conducted in accordance with
this Act, it is determined that the value of the Federal land
exceeds the value of the non-Federal land, conditioned on a
cash equalization payment made by BWLT to the United States in
accordance with subsection (c).
(c) Equal Value and Cash Equalization.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (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 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.--
(1) In general.--The value of the land to be exchanged
under this Act shall be determined by appraisals conducted by
one or more independent and qualified appraisers mutually
agreed to by the Secretary and BWLT.
(2) Appraisal standards.--The Secretary shall complete an
appraisal of the land to be exchanged 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 format 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 System lands.
(g) Map and Legal Descriptions.--
(1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary 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 description, 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.
(4) Map on file.--The Map and legal descriptions shall be
on file and available for public inspection in appropriate
offices of the Forest Service.
<all>