Sponsors
The bill trades a small expansion of public forest and clearer title transfers that help a local business for a permanent conveyance of federal land that reduces federal oversight and creates precedent and potential cost-shifting risks to states and taxpayers.
Residents and visitors to Wisconsin gain ~37.27 acres added to Black River State Forest, expanding public forest holdings and recreational/conservation space.
Deli, Inc. (a local small business) receives ~31.83 acres for its sphagnum moss operations, enabling continued or expanded local commercial activity and jobs.
State and private parties face less legal uncertainty because the bill requires USDA to provide a quitclaim deed before exchange deeds are recorded, clarifying title transfer sequencing.
People who use or rely on federally managed public land face reduced federal control over the conveyed parcels, which could limit future federal management, access protections, or conservation commitments.
Taxpayers and those who value federal public-land protections may see a risky precedent: targeted land exchanges that prioritize private commercial use over longstanding federal protections or public-interest stewardship.
State governments and taxpayers could incur shifted maintenance, oversight, or liability costs if long-term federal oversight is lost when the land is conveyed to the State or private owner.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Conditionally releases the U.S. interest in ~31.83 acres of Wisconsin State forest land so the State can exchange it to Deli, Inc. for ~37.27 acres and directs a quitclaim deed be issued and recorded evidence delivered.
Introduced October 28, 2025 by Derrick Van Orden · Last progress October 28, 2025
Conditionally releases the United States’ reversionary interest in about 31.83 acres of State forest land in Black River State Forest (Millston, Jackson County, Wisconsin) if the State of Wisconsin conveys that parcel to Deli, Inc. in exchange for about 37.27 acres owned or optioned by Deli, Inc. The Secretary of Agriculture must provide a quitclaim deed conveying any U.S. interest without payment and deliver recordable proof of that release to the State before the land-exchange deeds are recorded; the Secretary may correct the legal description in consultation with the State. The legislation defines the involved parcels, the private party (Deli, Inc.), the State land, and references a map dated June 26, 2023.