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Apostle Islands National Park Redesignation: Who it affects and what it changes

Apostle Islands, what a redesignation to National Park and Preserve would actually change

Last updated: September 19, 2025

This page explains, in plain language, what the proposed Apostle Islands National Park and Preserve bill would do, what it would not do on day one, and what real world effects communities should prepare for. A complete source list appears at the end.

The core of the bill

  • New title and two zones. The unit would be retitled as Apostle Islands National Park and Preserve and managed as a single unit. It creates two areas, a Park and a Preserve, with boundaries fixed on an official map kept on file by the National Park Service. The text also says there is no buffer around the Ashland Harbor Breakwater Light.
  • Where hunting and trapping are allowed. In the Park area, hunting and trapping would be prohibited. In the Preserve area, hunting and trapping would continue as they do today under existing law. Fishing continues across the entire unit. The draft clarifies that hunting and trapping may still occur in the Park where allowed by treaty, statute, or executive order for a Tribe.
  • Map and names. The bill references a National Park Service map titled Apostle Islands National Park and Preserve Proposed Boundaries and updates older Lakeshore references to the new title.
  • Ojibwe interpretation. The bill directs the Park Service to include interpretive features on Ojibwe history at visitor centers.
  • Treaty and reserved rights. Nothing in the act affects rights granted, reserved, or established by treaty, statute, or executive order, including rights to hunt, trap, fish, and gather.

What would not automatically change

  • Management framework. Aside from the targeted items above, the unit stays under the same body of National Park Service law and the original enabling act. Any new rules would require a separate public rulemaking process.
  • Wilderness remains. About eighty percent of the land is already designated as Gaylord Nelson Wilderness, which continues to limit development and motorized use unless Congress amends it separately.
  • Fishing framework. Federal rules already align fishing with applicable state law, and that continues unless revised later.
  • Winter travel rules. The existing special regulation for over ice travel and designated snowmobile corridors remains unless NPS opens a new rulemaking.
  • Commercial Use Authorizations. Outfitters operate under CUAs today. Redesignation by itself does not force a switch to concession contracts.
  • Entrance fees. There is no automatic entrance fee. Camping, docking, and parking fees continue as they are.

Tribal treaty rights

  • Express protection. The draft includes a savings clause for rights granted, reserved, or established by treaty, statute, or executive order, including rights to hunt, trap, fish, and gather.
  • Existing codes continue. Codes and agreements that govern treaty harvest and gathering continue to apply, including the Apostle Islands Gathering Code summarized by GLIFWC.

Commercial operations, permits, and fees

  • CUAs remain the tool in use. The park uses CUAs for outfitters and similar services. Redesignation does not require a move to concession contracts.
  • Fees. No new entrance fee is created by the title change. Existing camping, docking, and parking fees continue unless adjusted later.

Visitation and economic effects

  • No guaranteed surge. A title change has brand value, but visitation effects vary by site and management.
  • Example, Indiana Dunes. Visits rose after redesignation, then stabilized above the earlier baseline.
  • Example, New River Gorge. Reported visitor spending supports many local jobs after redesignation.
  • National context. Visitor spending across the National Park System adds many billions of dollars to gateway communities each year.
  • Capacity tradeoffs. Parking and launch pinch points, trail wear, search and rescue load, and housing pressure often rise with visibility, so planning matters.

Hunting, trapping, fishing, and winter travel

  • Hunting and trapping. Park area, not allowed except where a treaty, statute, or executive order for a Tribe allows it. Preserve area, continues as it does today under state and federal law.
  • Fishing. Continues across the entire unit under the current framework aligned with state law.
  • Winter travel. Over ice access and designated snowmobile corridors continue under the current special regulation unless revised through a new public process.

Boundaries and wilderness

  • Map based zoning. The Park and Preserve line is set by the Apostle Islands National Park and Preserve Proposed Boundaries map on file with NPS. The redesignation does not expand the external Lakeshore boundary.
  • Wilderness stays in place. The Gaylord Nelson Wilderness continues to control development limits regardless of the new title.

Process and timeline

  • Earlier version. A prior bill received a hearing in the last Congress and referenced a public map and Sand Island preserve notes.
  • Current status. The sponsor announced a reintroduction that manages the area as one unit, adds an explicit treaty and reserved rights clause, and references an updated map. Passage still requires approval by the House and Senate and a presidential signature.
  • Ongoing discussion. National groups have asked for deeper tribal consultation.

Community Q and A

This section reframes a recent online thread as a clear question and answer session.

Christie Gustafson
QuestionWill this ruin what is special here, tourism already jumped, this looks like greed.
AnswerNothing about redesignation ruins these places. The Apostle Islands have been managed by the National Park Service since 1970. The change draws a line between where hunting continues and where it stops. Protections, wilderness status, and bans on development remain.
Mark McGinley
QuestionFollow the money, can the preserve be monetized, Sand Island, marina, hotel.
AnswerThe bill does not add development loopholes. Sand Island and most islands are designated wilderness, which bans new roads, buildings, and mining. The practical effect is a title change and a hunting boundary split.
Stephanie Lynn
QuestionShady, unsafe, unethical, did not go through proper channels, puts customers in danger.
AnswerThese are labels, not facts. Which rule or permit requirement was not followed, on what date, and what agency record shows it. Which specific customer incident was documented.
Emery Mattson
QuestionMy calls are not answered, I will oppose the sponsor.
AnswerNational park status does not control who answers phones. The Islands are already a federally protected unit. Redesignation changes the title and hunting boundaries, not local phone responsiveness.
Carol Sowl
QuestionThis opens a door to appropriation and privatization.
AnswerFederal park land cannot be privatized and sold like private property. Once part of the National Park System, lands are protected by federal law.
Laura Priebe
QuestionThe sponsor will sell the park after he pockets the property.
AnswerSale of national park land is not possible without a separate act of Congress.
Mary Hayes
QuestionThis opens Sandy Island to development.
AnswerIt is Sand Island, and it is already designated wilderness. Redesignation does not open it to development. The bill changes the name and sets a park zone and a preserve zone, with hunting continuing in the preserve.
Janna Levings
QuestionWe have seen protections stripped. What is your affiliation, are you legitimate.
AnswerProtections here date to 1970 and remain, including the Gaylord Nelson Wilderness over most lands. Responses reference published statutes, the Code of Federal Regulations, National Park Service policy, and current bill language.

Citations and links

Bill, intent, and process

Current protections, wilderness, and what does not change

Winter over ice access rules

Tribal treaty rights

Commercial operations, permits, and fees

Visitation and economic effects