By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 11, 36, 16 U.S.C., sec. 473), and upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture, it is ordered that the boundary between the Cochetopa and Gunnison National Forests in Tps. 48 and 49 N., R. 4 E., New Mexico principal meridian, in the State of Colorado, be, and it is hereby, described as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of sec. 22, T. 48 N., R. 4 E., New Mexico principal meridian, which is a point on the present boundary of the Cochetopa National Forest; thence north to the west quarter corner of sec. 14, said township; thence east to the center of said sec. 14; thence north approximately 1 1/8; miles to the hydrographic divide between Horn Gulch on the north and west and the tributaries of Tomichi Creek to the south; thence easterly along said divide to the divide between Horn Gulch on the north and Dawson Creek on the south, continuing through secs. 1, 11, and 12 of said township and sec. 36 of T. 49 N., R. 4 E. to the point where said divide intersects the east line of said sec. 36, which is a point on the present interforest boundary between the Cochetopa and Gunnison National Forests. It is further ordered that all lands of the Cochetopa National Forest lying to the north and west of the above-described line be, and they are hereby, transferred to the Gunnison National Forest, and that all lands of the Gunnison National Forest lying to the south and. east of the above-described line be, and they are hereby, transferred to the Cochetopa National Forest. It is not intended by this order to give any publicly owned lands a nationalforest status which have hitherto not had such status, or to remove any publicly owned lands from a national-forest status. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, October 22, 1934.
Executive Order 6881 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Executive Order 6881—Transfer of Lands from the Cochetopa to the Gunnison National Forest, and from the Gunnison to the Cochetopa National Forest, Colorado
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (329 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The boundary between the Cochetopa and Gunnison National Forests in Tps. 48 and 49 N., R. 4 E., New Mexico principal meridian, in the State of Colorado, be, and it is hereby, described as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of sec. 22, T. 48 N., R. 4 E., New Mexico principal meridian, which is a point on the present boundary of the Cochetopa National Forest; thence north to the west quarter corner of sec. 14, said township; thence east to the center of said sec. 14; thence north approximately 1 1/8; miles to the hydrographic divide between Horn Gulch on the north and west and the tributaries of Tomichi Creek to the south; thence easterly along said divide to the divide between Horn Gulch on the north and Dawson Creek on the south…
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on October 22, 1934, this order concerns Transfer of Lands from the Cochetopa to the Gunnison National Forest, and from the Gunnison to the Cochetopa National Forest, Colorado. The boundary between the Cochetopa and Gunnison National Forests in Tps. 48 and 49 N., R. 4 E., New Mexico principal meridian, in the State of Colorado, be, and it is hereby, described as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of sec. 22, T. 48 N., R. 4 E., New Mexico principal meridian, which is a point on the present boundary of the Cochetopa National Forest; thence north to the west quarter corner of sec.…
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
▪
The boundary between the Cochetopa and Gunnison National Forests in Tps. 48 and 49 N., R. 4 E., New Mexico principal meridian, in the State of Colorado, be, and it is hereby, described as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of sec. 22, T. 48 N., R. 4 E., New Mexico principal meridian, which is a point on the present boundary of the Cochetopa National Forest; thence north to the west quarter corner of sec. 14, said township; thence east to the center of said sec. 14; thence north approximately 1 1/8; miles to the hydrographic divide between Horn Gulch on the north and west and the tributaries of Tomichi Creek to the south; thence easterly along said divide to the divide between Horn Gulch on the north and Dawson Creek on the south…
▪
It is further ordered that all lands of the Cochetopa National Forest lying to the north and west of the above-described line be, and they are hereby, transferred to the Gunnison National Forest, and that all lands of the Gunnison National Forest lying to the south and. east of the above-described line be, and they are hereby, transferred to the Cochetopa National Forest.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
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 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
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
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
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
Low Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
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%).
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
329
1,850 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
9.8
High School
Text size:
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 6881 (Oct. 22, 1934), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-6881-transfer-lands-from-the-cochetopa-the-gunnison-national-forest-and.
