National Ass'n of Property Owners v. United States

499 F. Supp. 1223, 11 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17379
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedJuly 24, 1980
DocketCiv. 5-79-95, 5-79-178 and Civ. 5-80-25
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 499 F. Supp. 1223 (National Ass'n of Property Owners v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Ass'n of Property Owners v. United States, 499 F. Supp. 1223, 11 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17379 (mnd 1980).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

MILES W. LORD, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Before the Court are parties’ motions and cross motions for summary judgment in three separate lawsuits challenging Congress’ most recent legislation concerning the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

In National Ass’n of Property Owners v. United States, Civil 5-79-95 (D.Minn.1979), plaintiffs challenge certain provisions of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act (BWCAW Act), Pub.L. No. 95-495, 92 Stat. 1649 (October 21, 1978). This particular action raises five key issues:

1. Did Congress unlawfully delegate authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to draw the boundaries of the new Wilderness Area?

2. Does the Act, by limiting motorboat and snowmobile use in the Wilderness, discriminate, unconstitutionally, against the class of all handicapped persons and the class of all persons less physically fit?

3. Do §§ 4, by limiting motorboat and snowmobile use in the Wilderness, and 5, containing provisions for the purchase of properties around the BWCAW, of the BWCAW Act infringe plaintiffs’ Ninth and Fifth Amendment rights?

4. Does the BWCAW Act conflict with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842?

5. Does alleged selective enforcement of the Act by the United States Forest Service give rise to any rightful claims by these plaintiffs?

In Minnesota v. Bergland, Civil 5-79-178 (D.Minn.1979), the state and plaintiff-intervenors challenge the constitutionality of the BWCAW Act; their claim is essentially that the federal government has power to regulate only those lands and waters that it owns. Plaintiffs assert that certain sections of the Act, to the extent that they regulate lands and waters not owned by the federal government, violate the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The sole issue raised in this lawsuit concerns whether Congress is constitutionally empowered to regulate those surface waters and lands within the Wilderness Area not owned by the federal government.

In National Ass’n of Property Owners v. Bergland, Civil 5-80-25 (D.Minn.1980), plaintiffs seek to enjoin the Secretary of Agriculture and the United States Forest Service from enforcing the 1978 Act. Plaintiffs allege that implementation of the legislation constitutes a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of § 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act, (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. § 4332(2)(C) (1976), necessitating the filing *1228 of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The sole question raised in this cause concerns whether NEPA, in fact, requires these federal defendants to file an EIS prior to enforcing the BWCAW Act.

All issues have been extensively briefed and the Court has entertained counsel’s oral presentations at two. full days of hearings. Now, after careful review of all the files, all memoranda and counsel’s oral argument, the Court is prepared to rule.

II. THE BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS

A. The History of the Area to 1978

The BWCAW rests along the Minnesota-Canada border for 110 miles. The Wilderness encompasses 1,075,000 acres. 1 East of the Rockies, it is the largest unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System; it is the second largest unit in the entire system. The BWCAW is the only lakeland canoe area in the entire nation. The area is made up of over 1,000 lakes, joined together by streams and portages. This area was the only means of travel for the legendary fur traders who navigated water routes pioneered by the Sioux and Chippewa. 2

Notwithstanding the fact that extensive logging has occurred in the Wilderness Area, it still offers sanctuary to over 540,-000 acres of virgin forests. This Wilderness is home to hundreds of species of unusual birds, plants and animals settled in scores of ecological communities. The area harbors such wildlife as the bald eagle, osprey, otter, beaver, moose, deer, snowshoe hare, porcupine, eastern timber wolf, pine marten, fisher and lynx. The boundary waters support sturgeon, pickerel, suckers and lake trout. Nearly every lake is populated by loons.

The dark forest is the keynote to the Wilderness, filled with jackpine and balsam fir. The forest is accented with feather mosses, stunted black spruce, labrador tea, swamp laurels and pitcher plants.

The extent to which the federal government has extended its protection over the Wilderness has varied for over 75 years. The history of federal involvement began back in 1902, 1905 and 1908, when the federal government set aside over one million acres of land as a federal forest reservation. In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt established, by proclamation, the Superior National Forest.

In 1926, Secretary of Agriculture William M. Jardine created the first Superior Wilderness Area, assuring that no roads would be constructed in at least 1,000 square miles of the best canoe country.

In 1930, Congress enacted the ShipsteadNewton-Nolan Act, 16 U.S.C. § 577 et seq. (1976), which prohibited logging within 400 feet of any lakeshore, and regulated the waters and water levels within the Superior National Forest.

In 1948, Congress enacted the Thye-Blatnik Act, 16 U.S.C. § 577c (1976), which directed the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire lands, or interests in lands, for the purpose of extending the wilderness canoe country. Also in 1948, the Forest Service established the Superior, Little Indian Sioux, and Caribou Roadless Areas, along with authorizing road construction and pulpwood timber sales in large areas previously promised to be kept free of roads by Secretary Jardine. In 1949, President Harry Truman issued Executive Order No. 10092 which established a 4,000 foot airspace reservation over the Wilderness.

In 1956, Congress authorized the appropriation of $9 million for the implementation of the Thye-Blatnik Act. See the Humphrey-Thye-Blatnik-Andresen Act of 1956, 16 U.S.C. §§ 577d-l, 577g-l and 577h (1976).

In 1964, Congress passed the Wilderness Act of 1964, which forbade the use of motorized vehicles in almost all Wilderness *1229 areas. The Act, however, specifically excepted the BWCA from full Wilderness status. Section 4(d)(5) provided:

Other provisions of this Act to the contrary notwithstanding, the management of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area ...

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Bluebook (online)
499 F. Supp. 1223, 11 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17379, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-assn-of-property-owners-v-united-states-mnd-1980.