It is hereby ordered that unsurveyed fractional section 1, township 5 south, range 1 east of the Tallahassee meridian, in Wakulla County, Fla., be, and the same is hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture as a refuge and breeding ground for wild animals and birds, subject to existing valid rights. The land involved has been withdrawn for lighthouse reservation purposes and is primarily under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, and its reservation as a wild-life refuge is subject to the use thereof by said department for lighthouse purposes at all times, and the enforcement of law by the Department of Agriculture shall be without interference with any existing or proposed regulations of the Department of Commerce pertaining to its Lighthouse Service personnel and their duties on the reservation. It is unlawful within this reservation (a) to hunt, trap, capture, willfully disturb, or kill any wild animal or bird of any kind whatever, to take or destroy the nests or eggs of any wild bird, to occupy or use any part of the reservation, or to enter thereon for any purpose, except under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture; (6) to cut, burn, or destroy any timber, underbrush, grass, or other natural growth; (c) willfully to leave fire or to suffer it to burn unattended near any forest, timber, or other inflammable material; (d) after building a fire in or near any forest, timber, or other inflammable material, to leave it without totally extinguishing it; and (e) willfully to injure, molest, or destroy any property of the United States. Warning is given to all persons not to commit any of the acts herein enumerated, under the penalties prescribed by sections 106, 107, and 145 of chapter 4, title 18, United States Code (35 Stat. 1098 and 43 Stat. 98), or by section 10 of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of February 18, 1929, United States Code, Supplement IV, title 16, chapter 7a, section 715 i (45 Stat. 1224). This refuge shall be known as the St. Marks Migratory Bird Refuge. HERBERT HOOVER The White House, October 31, 1931.
Executive Order 5740 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
Executive Order 5740—Establishing the St. Marks Migratory Bird Refuge, Florida
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (363 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
Unsurveyed fractional section 1, township 5 south, range 1 east of the Tallahassee meridian, in Wakulla County, Fla., be, and the same is hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture as a refuge and breeding ground for wild animals and birds, subject to existing valid rights.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Herbert Hoover on October 31, 1931, this order concerns Establishing the St. Marks Migratory Bird Refuge, Florida. Unsurveyed fractional section 1, township 5 south, range 1 east of the Tallahassee meridian, in Wakulla County, Fla., be, and the same is hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture as a refuge and breeding ground for wild animals and birds, subject to existing valid rights.
Constitutional Assessment: Evaluated against the Fifth Amendment, this action touches upon property or economic rights. An early statesman would insist upon strict adherence to due process of law and the constitutional guarantee that private holdings shall not be encumbered or taken for public purposes without just compensation and lawful process.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
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Unsurveyed fractional section 1, township 5 south, range 1 east of the Tallahassee meridian, in Wakulla County, Fla., be, and the same is hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture as a refuge and breeding ground for wild animals and birds, subject to existing valid rights.
▪
The land involved has been withdrawn for lighthouse reservation purposes and is primarily under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, and its reservation as a wild-life refuge is subject to the use thereof by said department for lighthouse purposes at all times, and the enforcement of law by the Department of Agriculture shall be without interference with any existing or proposed regulations of the Department of Commerce pertaining to its Lighthouse Service personnel and their duties on the reservation.
▪
It is unlawful within this reservation (a) to hunt, trap, capture, willfully disturb, or kill any wild animal or bird of any kind whatever, to take or destroy the nests or eggs of any wild bird, to occupy or use any part of the reservation, or to enter thereon for any purpose, except under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture; (6) to cut, burn, or destroy any timber, underbrush, grass, or other natural growth; (c) willfully to leave fire or to suffer it to burn unattended near any forest, timber, or other inflammable material; (d) after building a fire in or near any forest, timber, or other inflammable material, to leave it without totally extinguishing it; and (e) willfully to injure, molest…
▪
Warning is given to all persons not to commit any of the acts herein enumerated, under the penalties prescribed by sections 106, 107, and 145 of chapter 4, title 18, United States Code (35 Stat. 1098 and 43 Stat. 98), or by section 10 of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of February 18, 1929, United States Code, Supplement IV, title 16, chapter 7a, section 715 i (45 Stat. 1224).
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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.
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"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."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM
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.
Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
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: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
GM
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.
Anti-Federalist Stance: High Bill of Rights Scrutiny
📐
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
38 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Moderate Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3
Low Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
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
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
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
Moderate Friction
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.
Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️
Audit Synthesis
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
ℹ️
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
363
2,146 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.9
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (4)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1942-04-01
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1938-09-19
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1937-11-22
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1935-11-01
Related Executive Orders
Other executive actions signed by Herbert Hoover around this period.
EO 5739 Oct 30, 1931
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5739—Power-Site Restoration No. 464, Idaho
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
So much of the orders of February 25, 1910, creating Temporary Power-Site Withdrawal No. 117, and July 2, 1910, creating Power-Site Reserve No. 117, as affects the lands hereinafter described, is hereby revoked: Boise Meridian T. 3 S., R. 1 E., sec. 21, W. ½ NE. ¼, N ½ SE. ¼…
Herbert Hoover Grade 8 • 1m
EO 5741 Nov 2, 1931
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5741—Revocation of Withdrawal of Public Lands Pending Resurvey, Wyoming
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order No. 4608, dated March 10, 1927, which withdrew, among other lands, the public lands in T. 47 N., R. 90 W., sixth principal meridian, Wyoming, pending resurvey, be, and the same is hereby, revoked as to the above-mentioned township.
Herbert Hoover College Level • 1m
EO 5738 Oct 29, 1931
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5738—Authorizing the Appointment of Mrs. Louise A. Gallivan
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Mrs. Louise A. Gallivan may be appointed, as Grade CAF-1 Clerk in the Boston Regional Office of the Veterans' Administration without regard to the requirements of the civil-service rules. This order is issued upon the recommendation of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.
Herbert Hoover High School • 1m
EO 5742 Nov 3, 1931
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5742—Authorizing the Appointment of Mr. William C. White
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Mr. William C. White may be appointed to the position of naval architect, Professional Service, grade 4, at $3,800 per annum, to act as chief draftsman in the Office of the Superintending Constructor, United States Navy, Groton, Conn., in connection with the construction of the…
Herbert Hoover High School • 1m
EO 5745 Nov 7, 1931
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5745—Power-Site Restoration No. 466, Wyoming
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
So much of the orders of May 26, 1909, creating Temporary Power-Site Withdrawal No. 5, July 21, 1909, creating Temporary Power-Site Withdrawal No. 30, and July 2, 1910, creating Power-Site Reserves Nos. 5 and 30, as affects the lands hereinafter described, is hereby revoked…
Herbert Hoover Grade 9 • 1m
EO 5744 Nov 7, 1931
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5744—Power-Site Restoration No. 465, Colorado
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
So much of the orders of May 15, 1909, creating Temporary Power-Site Withdrawal No. 2, and July 2, 1910, creating Power-Site Reserve No. 2, as affects the lands hereinafter described, is hereby revoked: New Mexico Meridian T. 43 N., R. 6 W., sec. 31, all.
Herbert Hoover Grade 9 • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5740 (Oct. 31, 1931), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5740-establishing-the-st-marks-migratory-bird-refuge-florida.
