HR 2252: North Dakota Trust Lands Completion Act of 2026

HR 2252 in plain English: This bill allows North Dakota to swap certain state-owned land grant parcels located within Indian reservations for federal land of substantially equivalent value administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The exchanges would be conducted between the North Dakota Board of University and School Lands and the Department of the Interior. Land received by tribes through these exchanges could be held in trust by the federal government on the tribe's behalf.

Stated purpose

To allow North Dakota to swap certain state-owned land parcels located inside Indian reservations for federal land of roughly equal value elsewhere in the state, and to allow tribes to request that exchanged lands be held in trust on their behalf.

Key points

• Allows North Dakota to exchange state land grant parcels inside tribal reservations for federal Bureau of Land Management land of equivalent value.
• Parcels eligible for exchange must be valued at less than $500,000 and less than $500 per acre.
• Upon a tribe's request, the federal government must hold exchanged land in trust for that tribe.
• Existing active grazing operations on exchanged lands may continue after the exchange.

Arguments supporters make

• This exchange fixes a long-standing problem: when reservations were created on land originally granted to North Dakota for schools, the state lost revenue it was promised at statehood — this bill restores that promise.
• Tribes benefit directly because land within their reservations that was state-owned can now be taken into federal trust for the tribe, strengthening tribal sovereignty and consolidating reservation land.
• The exchange is value-neutral by design — both sides must receive land of substantially equivalent value — so neither taxpayers nor tribes lose out financially.

Arguments opponents make

• Critics may argue the federal BLM land given to North Dakota could include areas with natural, cultural, or environmental significance that deserve continued public or tribal access rather than state control.
• Some tribal advocates might contend that the bill does not go far enough or gives tribes no guaranteed role in selecting which lands are exchanged, leaving key decisions to the state and federal government.
• Opponents could argue the bill bypasses standard land-exchange rules under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, reducing normal public oversight and transparency protections for federal land transfers.

Tradeoffs

The bill trades federal public land for state trust land inside reservations, benefiting North Dakota's school funding mission and potentially expanding tribal land bases, but reducing the federal public land inventory and removing those parcels from broader public use or conservation options.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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