WHEREAS, on July 24, 1969, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the United States Department of Agriculture entered into an agreement providing for the transfer by the said Authority to the said Department of the right of possession and all other right, title, and interest which the Authority might have in or to the tract of land in Carter County, Tennessee, therein designated and described, so that such tract might be included in and reserved as a part of the Cherokee National Forest, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the said agreement and subject to the approval required by section 4 (k) (c) of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933, as amended by the Act of July 18, 1941 (16 U.S.C. Section 831c(k) (c)); and WHEREAS, on the 20th day of September, 1969, the said agreement between the Tennessee Valley Authority and the United States Department of Agriculture was approved by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget pursuant to the provisions of section 4 (k) (c) of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933, as amended, supra, and of section 1(14) of Executive Order No. 11230 of June 28, 1965; and WHEREAS, it appears that such lands are suitable for national-forest purposes and that the inclusion of such lands in the Cherokee National Forest would be in the public interest: Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 24 of the Act of March 3, 1891, 26 Stat. 1103, and the Act of June 4, 1897, 30 Stat. 34, 36 (16 U.S.C. 471, 473), and as President of the United States, and upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture, it is ordered that the following described tract of land be included in and reserved as part of the Cherokee National Forest, such inclusion and reservation to be in accordance with and subject to all of the provisions and conditions of the said agreement of the 24th day of July, 1969, between the Tennessee Valley Authority and the United States Department of Agriculture: Tract Number XTWIR-5 A tract of land lying in the Eighteenth Civil District of Carter County, State of Tennessee, on the right side of the Watauga River, approximately 1,000 feet north of Wilbur Dam, and more particularly described as follows: Beginning at a metal marker (Coordinates: N. 733, 437; E. 3, 139, 411) in the center line of a road and in the boundary of the land of the United States of America in the custody of the Tennessee Valley Authority at a corner to the land of Ralph B. Nave et ux. From the initial point with the line of the land in the custody of the Tennessee Valley Authority, N. 69°42' E., 757 feet to a metal marker; N. 63°50'E., 636 feet to a metal marker; S. 21°59' E., 622 feet to a metal marker; S. 59°04' W., 503 feet to a metal marker; Leaving the line of the land in the custody of the Tennessee Valley Authority, N. 76°19' W., 72 feet to a metal marker in the center line of a road at a junction of roads; With the center line of a road approximately along a bearing and distance of N. 74°46' W., 1049 feet to the point of beginning. The above described land contains 15.1 acres, more or less. The positions of corners and directions of lines are referred to the Tennessee Coordinate System. NOTE: The above described land is transferred subject to the following: 1. Such rights as may by vested in the county and/or third parties to a right-of-way for a road. 2. An easement reservation in favor of the United States of America and the Tennessee Valley Authority for an electric power transmission line right-of-way on, over, and across a strip of land 100 feet wide, lying 50 feet on each side of the center line of an existing electric power transmission line owned and operated by the Authority and known as the Watauga Hydro-North Bristol Transmission Line, the center line of the strip being described as follows: Beginning at a point in the center line of the existing transmission line and in the northwest boundary of the above described land approximately 135 feet southwest of the most northerly property corner; thence with the center line of the existing transmission line approximately S. 22° W., 530 feet to a transmission line tower; thence approximately S. 23° E., 330 feet to a point in the boundary of the described land at or near the most southerly property corner. RICHARD NIXON The White House October 13, 1969
Executive Order 11488—Including Certain Lands in the Cherokee National Forest
Executive Brief • At a Glance
NOTE: The above described land is transferred subject to the following: 1.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Richard Nixon on October 13, 1969, this order concerns Including Certain Lands in the Cherokee National Forest. The following described tract of land be included in and reserved as part of the Cherokee National Forest, such inclusion and reservation to be in accordance with and subject to all of the provisions and conditions of the said agreement of the 24th day of July, 1969, between the Tennessee Valley Authority and the United States Department of Agriculture: Tract Number XTWIR-5 A tract of land lying in the Eighteenth…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
NOTE: The above described land is transferred subject to the following: 1.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
Policy Areas & Topics
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
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.
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)
George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,488 (Oct. 13, 1969), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11488-including-certain-lands-the-cherokee-national-forest.