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Executive Order 10844 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 10844—Enlarging the Wasatch National Forest—Utah

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower
•
Friday, October 9, 1959
•
3 min read (652 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (652 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The exterior boundaries of the Wasatch National Forest are hereby extended to include the lands hereinafter described, and, subject to valid existing rights, all lands of the United States within such boundaries as thus extended (1) which have been acquired by the United States under authority of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 or Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, and (2) which were transferred to the Department of Agriculture by Executive Order No. 10046 of March 24, 1949, are hereby included in and reserved as parts of the Wasatch National Forest: SALT LASE MERIDIAN T. 9 S., R. 4 W., Sec. 7, lots 2, 3 and 4, S 1/2 NE 1/4, SE 1/4, NW 1/4, E 1/2 SW 1/4 SE 1/4; Sec. 8, W 1/2 SW 1/4, SE 1/4 SW 1/4; Sec. 17, SW…

View all 2 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Public Health & Medical Institutions
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 9, 1959, this order concerns Enlarging the Wasatch National Forest—Utah. The exterior boundaries of the Wasatch National Forest are hereby extended to include the lands hereinafter described, and, subject to valid existing rights, all lands of the United States within such boundaries as thus extended (1) which have been acquired by the United States under authority of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 or Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, and (2) which were…

Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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The exterior boundaries of the Wasatch National Forest are hereby extended to include the lands hereinafter described, and, subject to valid existing rights, all lands of the United States within such boundaries as thus extended (1) which have been acquired by the United States under authority of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 or Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, and (2) which were transferred to the Department of Agriculture by Executive Order No. 10046 of March 24, 1949, are hereby included in and reserved as parts of the Wasatch National Forest: SALT LASE MERIDIAN T. 9 S., R. 4 W., Sec. 7, lots 2, 3 and 4, S 1/2 NE 1/4, SE 1/4, NW 1/4, E 1/2 SW 1/4 SE 1/4; Sec. 8, W 1/2 SW 1/4, SE 1/4 SW 1/4; Sec. 17, SW…

▪

Of Executive Order No. 10046 of March 24, 1949, is hereby revoked to the extent that it applies to the lands in the Central Utah Project transferred to the Department of Agriculture for use, administration, and disposition in accordance with the provisions of Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act and related provisions of Title IV thereof.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Agriculture
🏛️

The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)

Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.

Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)

Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
📐

Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
23 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
652
3,514 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
9.4
High School
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (2 sections)
Sec. 18Sec. 36

WHEREAS certain lands in the State of Utah have been acquired by the United States under the authority of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, approved April 8, 1935 (49 Stat. 115), or Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, approved July 22, 1937 (50 Stat. 525), as amended (7 U.S.C. 1010-1012), for use in connection with the Central Utah Land Utilization Project; and WHEREAS, by reason of the transfer effected by Executive Order No. 7908 of June 9, 1938, as amended by Executive Order No. 8531 of August 31, 1940, such project is now being administered pursuant to Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act; and WHEREAS by Executive Order No. 10046 of March 24, 1949, certain public lands within such project were subject to valid existing rights and withdrawals and to the provisions of Executive Order No. 17908 of June 9, 1938, as amended by Executive Order No. 8531 of August 31, 1940, withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public-land laws, except the mining and mineral-leasing laws, and reserved for use, administration, and disposition in accordance with the provisions of Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act and the related provisions of Title IV thereof, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture; and WHEREAS it appears that such lands are suitable for national-forest purposes and that it would be in the public interest to include them in and reserve them as part of the Wasatch National Forest, in Utah:

NOW, THEREFORE, #now-therefore

by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 24 of the act of March 3, 1891, 26 Stat. 1103, as amended (16 U.S.C. 471), and the act of June 4, 1897, 30 Stat. 34, 36 (16 U.S.C. 473), and upon recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture, it is ordered as follows: The exterior boundaries of the Wasatch National Forest are hereby extended to include the lands hereinafter described, and, subject to valid existing rights, all lands of the United States within such boundaries as thus extended (1) which have been acquired by the United States under authority of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 or Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, and (2) which were transferred to the Department of Agriculture by Executive Order No. 10046 of March 24, 1949, are hereby included in and reserved as parts of the Wasatch National Forest: SALT LASE MERIDIAN T. 9 S., R. 4 W., Sec. 7, lots 2, 3 and 4, S 1/2 NE 1/4, SE 1/4, NW 1/4, E 1/2 SW 1/4 SE 1/4; Sec. 8, W 1/2 SW 1/4, SE 1/4 SW 1/4; Sec. 17, SW 1/4 NE 3/4, W 1/2, W 1/2 SE 1/4; Secs. 18 and 19; Sec. 20, W 1/2 NE 1/4, W1/2, W 1/2 SE 1/4, SE 1/4 SE 1/4; Sec. 21, S 1/2, SW 1/4, SE 1/4; Sec. 27, W 1/2 W1/2; Secs. 28 to 33, inclusive; Sec. 34, SW 1/4 NE 1/4, W1/2, SE 1/4. T. 10 S., R. 4 W., Sec. 5, lots 1, 2, 3, and 4, S 1/2 SW 1/4, SW 1/4 SE 1/4; Secs. 6 and 7; Sec. 8, W 1/2 NE 3/4, W 1/2, W 1/2 SE 1/4; Sec. 17, W 1/2 NE 1/4, W 1/2;

Sec. 18. #sec-18

T. 9 S., R. 5 W. T. 9 S., R. 6 W., (partly unsurveyed) Secs. 1 to 5, inclusive; Sec. 6, N 1/2; Secs. 9 to 16, inclusive; Sec. 21, NE 1/4; Secs. 22 to 26, inclusive;

Sec. 36. #sec-36

Section 2 of Executive Order No. 10046 of March 24, 1949, is hereby revoked to the extent that it applies to the lands in the Central Utah Project transferred to the Department of Agriculture for use, administration, and disposition in accordance with the provisions of Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act and related provisions of Title IV thereof. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

October 9, 1959.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 10,844 (Oct. 9, 1959), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10844-enlarging-the-wasatch-national-forest-utah.