Sponsors (2)
The bill trades a modest, local expansion of state forest and faster title resolution for the State against transferring nearby federal land to a private party without payment and creating a narrow precedent that could reduce public land and forgo federal receipts.
Local residents and the State of Wisconsin gain ~37.27 acres added to Black River State Forest, expanding public forestland and recreational access nearby.
State government and Deli, Inc. see reduced legal uncertainty because the bill requires a quitclaim deed that clears the federal reversionary interest quickly, speeding the land exchange/recording process.
Taxpayers lose potential federal receipts because the federal interest is transferred without monetary consideration, effectively conveying value without compensation.
Rural residents and visitors lose access to roughly 31.83 acres formerly restricted to public use that are conveyed to a private company (Deli, Inc.), reducing federally protected public land area.
State governments and local communities face a governance risk because the narrow, parcel-specific conveyance could set a precedent for targeted land swaps that remove federal restrictions without broader public review.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced April 2, 2025 by Ron Johnson · Last progress April 2, 2025
Conditions the federal government’s release of a reversionary interest in about 31.83 acres of Black River State Forest in Millston, Wisconsin on the State of Wisconsin executing a written agreement to convey that forest land to Deli, Inc. in exchange for about 37.27 acres owned or to be acquired by Deli, Inc. If the State offers such an exchange agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture must promptly provide a quitclaim deed conveying any U.S. interest without consideration and deliver it for recording before the exchange deeds are recorded. The measure specifies the involved parcels, allows the Secretary to correct legal descriptions for the quitclaim deed, and requires the deed be issued as expeditiously as practicable; no new funding or program authorizations are created.