HR 197
Advanced toward a vote
Directs the Forest Service to trade about 17.5 acres of federal land in Itasca County, Minnesota, to Big Winnie Land and Timber, LLC, in exchange for about 36.7 acres of that company's land in the same county.
Official title: Lake Winnibigoshish Land Exchange Act of 2025
Timeline each lane is a chamber; dates pull from congress.gov actions
House
Introduced
03-JAN-2025
Referred
03-JAN-2025
Passed
21-JAN-2025
Senate
Received
22-JAN-2025
Approved by committee
21-OCT-2025
Reported
27-OCT-2025
On the calendar
27-OCT-2025
- Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service, to accept BWLT's offer of the non-federal land within one year of the offer, with the exchange subject to title approval and a satisfactory Phase I Environmental Site Assessment.
- Conveys about 17.5 acres of federal land to BWLT, reserving an easement for road access to National Forest System land west of the parcel.
- Adds the roughly 36.7 acres of non-federal land to the Chippewa National Forest and manages it under National Forest System rules.
- Requires BWLT to pay closing costs, title and survey expenses, and any cash equalization payment; if the non-federal land appraises higher, the difference is treated as a donation by BWLT.
Covers an older version. The newest CRS summary describes the bill as of "Introduced in House" (03-JAN-2025); the text has changed since (Reported to Senate, 27-OCT-2025).
CRS is the Library of Congress's nonpartisan research office. Read it on congress.govPublic Lands and Natural Resources
■ 2 R
2 Republicans