Bill > HR5497

This bill redesignates the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore as the Apostle Islands National Park and Preserve, which will be administered by the Secretary of the Interior as a single unit of the National Park System. The new designation includes two distinct areas: Apostle Islands National Park and Apostle Islands National Preserve, with specific boundaries outlined in a map dated October 2024. Hunting and trapping will be prohibited within the National Park, except where permitted by treaty, statute, or executive order pertaining to Native American tribes, while hunting and trapping in the National Preserve will continue to be administered as they were before the redesignation. Fishing will be managed similarly to previous practices. The bill requires the park to include interpretive features at its visitor centers that describe the region's history, including information about Ojibwe tribes, European settlers, fur trade, logging, stone quarries, lighthouses, and commercial fishing. Importantly, the bill explicitly preserves any treaty, statutory, or executive order rights of Native American tribes, including hunting, trapping, fishing, and gathering rights within the park's boundaries. All previous references to "Apostle Islands National Lakeshore" in official documents will now be considered references to "Apostle Islands National Park and Preserve."

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5497/all-info