★
Executive Orders Historical Archive
Cite
Executive Order 7106 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process

Executive Order 7106—Establishing the Malheur Migratory Bird Refuge

•
Friday, July 19, 1935
•
9 min read (1,855 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 9 min read (1,855 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

The following-described lands in Harney County, Oregon, consisting of 66,717 acres, more or less, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights, as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wild life: WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN T. 27 S., R. 30 E., sec. 25, SE¼ NE¼ and SE¼; sec. 36, NE¼.

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
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 Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 19, 1935, this order concerns Establishing the Malheur Migratory Bird Refuge. The following-described lands in Harney County, Oregon, consisting of 66,717 acres, more or less, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights, as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wild life: WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN T. 27 S., R. 30 E., sec. 25, SE¼ NE¼ and SE¼; sec. 36, NE¼.

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

▪

The following-described lands in Harney County, Oregon, consisting of 66,717 acres, more or less, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights, as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wild life: WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN T. 27 S., R. 30 E., sec. 25, SE¼ NE¼ and SE¼; sec. 36, NE¼.

▪

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; (b) 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, on other inflammable material, to leave it without totally extinguishing it; and (e) willfully to injure, molest…

▪

All persons are hereby informed that sections 52, 53 (as amended), and 84 (as amended) of the Criminal Code of the United States (secs. 106, 107, 145, title 16, U.S.C.), and section 14 of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of February 18, 1929 (sec. 715m, title 16, U.S.C.), prescribe penalties for the commission of the offenses enumerated in the preceding paragraph.

▪

This refuge shall be known as the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️

The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating 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

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

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

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

Moderate Friction

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
1,855
8,709 characters
Estimated Read Time
9 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
2.2
Grade 2
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

OREGON By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me as President of the United States, and in order to effectuate further the purposes of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (45 Stat. 1222), it is ordered that the following-described lands in Harney County, Oregon, consisting of 66,717 acres, more or less, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights, as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wild life: WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN T. 27 S., R. 30 E., sec. 25, SE¼ NE¼ and SE¼; sec. 36, NE¼. T. 30 S., R. 30 E, sec. 9, NE¼ SE¼; sec, 10, NW¼ NW¼ and SE¼ NW¼; sec. 35, SE¼ SW¼ and S½ SE¼. T. 26 S., R. 31 E., (south of Lake Malheur) sec. 32, lots 2 to 6, inclusive; sec. 34, lots 1 and 4, and SW¼ SW¼; sec. 35, lots 1 to 4, inclusive, and S½ SE¼. T. 27 S., R. 31 E., sec. 2, lots 3 and 4, SW¼ NW¼, and W½ SW¼; secs. 3 and 4; sec. 8, S½ SE¼; secs. 9 and 10; sec. 11, W½ W½; sec. 14, W½ W½; sec. 15, N½; sec. 16, all; sec. 17, NE¼, NE¼ NW¼, S½ NW¼, and S½; sec. 18, SE¼ SE¼; secs. 19 to 22, inclusive; sec. 25, NW¼ NW¼, S½ NW¼, and SW¼; sec. 26, W½; secs 27 to 34, inclusive; sec. 35, NW¼ and W½ SW¼. T. 28, S., R. 31 E., sec. 5, lots 1 to 4, inclusive, S½ N½, SW¼, and W½ SE¼; secs. 4 and 5; sec. 6, lots 1 to 5, inclusive, S½ NE¼, SE¼ NW¼, and E½ SE¼; sec. 7, E½ E½; secs. 8 and 9; sec. 10, NW¼ NE¼, and W½; sec. 15, W½; secs. 16 and 17; sec. 18, E½ E½; sec. 19, E½ NE¼ and NE¼ SE¼; sec. 20, all; sec. 21, all; sec. 22, NW¼ NE¼, S½ NE¼, W½, and SE¼; sec. 23, SW¼ NW¼ and SW¼; sec. 25, SW¼ NE¼, W½ NW¼, SE¼ NW¼, SW¼, W½ SE¼, and SE¼ SE¼; secs. 26 to 28, inclusive; sec. 29, NE¼, N½ NW¼, and SE¼; sec. 32, E½ NE¼; sec. 33, N½, NE¼ SW¼, and SE¼; secs. 34 and 35; sec. 36, NE¼ NE¼, W½ NE¼, W½, and W½ SE¼. T. 29 S., R. 31 E., sec. 1, lots 2, 3, and 4, SW¼ NE¼, S½ NW¼, and SW¼; sec. 2, all; sec. 3, lots 1 to 4, inclusive, S½ N½, N½ SW¼, SE¼ SW¼, and SE¼; sec. 4, lot 1 and SE¼ NE¼; sec. 10, NE¼, S½ NW¼, NE¼ SW¼, and SE¼; sec. 11, all; sec. 12, S½ NE¼, W½, and SE¼; secs. 13 and 14; sec. 15, NE¼, N½ SE¼, and SE¼ SE¼; sec. 23, NE¼, N½ NW¼, SE¼ NW¼, and SE¼; sec. 24, NE¼ NE¼, SW¼ NW¼, SW¼, and SW¼ SE¼; sec. 25, NW¼; sec. 26, NE¼ NE¼, S½ NE¼, SE¼ SW¼, NE¼ SE¼, and W½ SE¼; sec. 34, S½ SE¼; sec. 35, NW¼ NE¼, E½ NW¼, and SW¼. T. 30 S., R. 31 E., sec. 5, lots 2 and 3, SW¼ NE¼, SE¼ NW¼, NE¼ SW¼, S½ SW¼, N½ SE¼, and SW¼ SE¼; sec. 4, SW¼ SW¼; sec. 9, NW¼ NW¼; sec. 10, NE¼, E½ W½, and SE¼; sec. 11, W½; sec. 13, S½ NW¼, SW¼, W½ SE¼, and SE¼ SE¼; sec. 14, NE¼, N½ NW¼, and SE¼; sec. 15, W½ NE¼, E½ W½, and W½ SE¼; sec. 22, NE¼, NE¼ NW¼, S½ NW¼, and S½; sec. 23, SW¼ SW¼; sec. 24, NE¼ and N½ NW¼; sec. 26, W½ NW¼; sec. 27, all; sec. 28, SE¼ NE¼ and SE¼; sec. 35, N½ NE¼, SE¼ NE¼, and SE¼; sec. 34, all; sec. 35, S½ NW¼. T. 29 S., R. 32 E., sec. 7, lots 3 and 4, SW¼ NE¼, E½ SW¼, and SE¼; sec. 8, W½ SW¼ and SE¼ SW¼; sec. 15, SW¼ and SW¼ SE¼; sec. 16, W½ NE¼, W½, and SE¼; sec. 17, W½ NE¼, SE¼ NE¼, W½, and SE¼; sec. 18, all; sec. 19, lots 1 and 2, NE¼, E½ NW¼, NE¼ SW¼, and SE¼; sec. 20, N½, SW¼, N½ SE¼, and SW¼ SE¼; sec. 21, N½ and N½ S½; sec. 22, W½ NW¼, N½ SW¼, SE¼ SW¼, and W½ SE¼; sec. 29, NW¼ NE¼ and N½ NW¼; T. 30, S., R. 32 E.,sec. 14, S½ SW¼; sec. 15, N½ SW¼, SE¼ SW¼, and SE¼; sec. 18, lot 4; sec. 19, lots 1 and 2, W½ NE¼, SE¼ NE¼, E½ NW¼, and N½ SE¼; sec. 20, NW¼ SW¼ and S½ S½; sec. 23, NW¼ NE¼ and SE¼ NE¼; sec. 24, S½ N½ and W½ SW¼; sec. 25, W½ W½; sec. 27, S½ SW¼ and SW¼ SE¼; sec. 28, NW¼ NW¼, SE¼ NW¼, NW¼ SE¼, and SE¼ SE¼; sec. 29, NW¼ NW¼ and SE¼ SW¼; sec. 32, SW¼ NE¼, NE¼ NW¼, and E½ SE¼; sec, 33, E½ NE¼, S½ SW¼, NE¼ SE¼, and S½ SE¼; sec. 34, N½ NE¼, SE¼ NE¼, NW¼ NW¼, S½ SW¼, NE¼ SE¼, and S½ SE¼; sec. 35, S½ SW¼, NE¼ SE¼, and S½ SE¼; sec. 36, W½ NW¼ and NW¼ SW¼. T. 31 S., R. 32 E, sec. 3, lot 2 and SE¼ SE¼; sec. 5, lot 2 and SW¼ SE¼; sec. 8, N½ NE¼ and SE¼ NE¼; sec. 9, SW¼ NE¼, S½ NW¼, NW¼ SW¼, and NW¼ SE¼; sec 12, E½ E½; sec. 13, E½; sec. 19, lot 4, SE¼ SW¼, and S½ SE¼; sec. 21, NW¼ NE¼ and NE¼ SE¼; sec. 22, lot 4 and SW¼ SE¼; sec. 24, NE¼, E½ NW¼, NE¼ SW¼, S½ SW¼, and SE¼; sec. 25, all; sec. 26, lots 1 to 4, inclusive; sec. 27, SW¼ NE¼ and W½ SE¼; sec. 34, W½ NE¼, NW¼ SE¼, and SE¼ SE¼; sec. 35, lots 1 to 4, inclusive, SW¼ NE¼, S½ SW¼, and W½ SE¼; sec. 36, all. T. 32 S., R. 32 E, sec, 1, all; sec. 2, lots 1 and 2, S½ NE¼, and NE¼ SE¼; sec. 8, SE¼ SW¼, W½ SE¼, and SE¼ SE¼; sec. 9, SW¼ SW¼; sec. 11, NW¼ NE¼ and SE¼ NE¼; sec. 12, NE¼, N½ NW¼, and N½ SE¼. T. 31 S., R. 32½ E.,sec. 1, lots 1 and 2, and SE¼; sec. 5, lots 1, 3, and 4, NW¼ SW¼, and S½ SW¼; sec. 6, lots 1 to 6, inclusive, E½ SW¼, and SE¼; sec. 7, all; sec. 8, W½ and S½ SE¼; sec. 12, N½ NE¼, SE¼ NE¼, and E½ SE¼; sec. 13, NE¼ NE¼, S½ NE¼, NW¼ NW¼, SE¼ NW¼, E½ SE¼; sec. 16, NW¼ NE¼, SE¼ NE¼, NE¼ NW¼, and W½ W½; secs.17 to 20, inclusive; sec. 21, W½, W½ SE¼, and SE¼ SE¼; sec. 24, E½ E½; sec. 25, E½ NE¼, SW¼ SW¼, and E½ SE¼; sec. 26, SE¼ SW¼ and S½ SE¼; sec. 28, W½ NE¼; and W½; secs. 29 to 32, inclusive; sec. 33, NW¼, N½ SW¼, SW¼ SW¼, NW¼ SE¼; sec. 36, E½ E½. T. 32 S., R. 32½ E., sec. 1, lot 1, SE¼ NE¼ and E½ SE¼; sec. 4, lot 4, SW¼ NW¼, and N½ SW¼; sec. 5, lots 1 to 4, inclusive, SW¼ NE¼, S½ NW¼, SW¼, and W½ SE¼; sec. 6, all; sec. 7, lots 1, 2, and 3, NE¼, N½ NW¼, NE¼ SW¼, and N½ SE¼; sec. 8, NW¼ NE¼, NE¼ NW¼, and W½ W½; sec. 10, SW¼ NE¼, NE¼ SW¼, and SW¼ SW¼; sec. 13, N½ N½. T. 28 S., R. 33 E, sec. 26, W½ NE¼. T. 31 S., R. 33 E., sec, 18, SE¼; sec. 19, NE¼ NE¼; sec. 20, NW¼ NE¼, S½ NE¼, NW¼, NE¼ SW¼, N½ SE¼, and SW¼ SW¼. T. 30½ S., R. 34 E., sec, 28, SW¼ and W½ SE¼; sec. 29, SE¼; sec, 32, N½ NE¼; sec. 33, NW¼ NE¼, N½ NW¼, and SW¼ NW¼. EXCEPTING THEREFROM, however, those parts of sec, 2, T. 32 S., R. 32 E., Willamette meridian, comprising the townsite of Frenchglen, particularly described as follows, to wit: (1) Beginning at a point on the east line of the street through Frenchglen, Oregon, which is S. 89°10' E., 156.53 ft. from the sixteenth corner on the north line of the southeast quarter of sec. 2, T. 32 S., R. 32 E., and from such point S. 12°57' E., a distance of 4.5 ft., such point being the place of beginning. (Said sixteenth corner in marked by a half Ford axle housing, small end up, buried 6 in. underground, and is midway between the center of said sec. 2, marked by a 1½-in, by 30-in. pipe, and the quarter-section corner on the east line of said sec. 2, also marked by a 1½-in. by 30-in, pipe; and the center of the street above described on said line is marked by a steel shaft 7/8 in. by 30 in., with an "X" on the top, set 6 in, beneath the surface, S. 89°10' E., a distance of 85.34 ft, from said sixteenth corner, these four monuments in line marking the course 89°10' so determined.) Thence from said initial point, by metes and bounds, S. 12°57' E., 320 ft.; N. 77°03' E., 200 ft.; N. 12°57' W., 720 ft.; S. 77°03' W., 200 ft.; S. 12°57' E.., 400 ft.; to the point of beginning, (2) A tract on the west side of the street through Frenchglen, Oregon, known as the Bradeen tract and described as follows: Beginning at a point on the west line of the street through Frenchglen, Oregon, from which the center-east sixteenth corner of sec. 2, T. 32 S., R. 32 E., Willamette meridian, bears N. 19°54'55" W., 353.74 ft. distant. Thence from said initial point, S. 77°05' W., 124.9 ft.; N. 00°52' E., 72.0 ft'; N. 77°05' E., 108.6 ft'; S. 12°57', E., 70.0 ft. to the place of beginning. 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; (b) 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, on other inflammable material, to leave it without totally extinguishing it; and (e) willfully to injure, molest, or destroy any property of the United States. All persons are hereby informed that sections 52, 53 (as amended), and 84 (as amended) of the Criminal Code of the United States (secs. 106, 107, 145, title 16, U.S.C.), and section 14 of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of February 18, 1929 (sec. 715m, title 16, U.S.C.), prescribe penalties for the commission of the offenses enumerated in the preceding paragraph. This refuge shall be known as the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, July 19, 1935.

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 7106 (July 19, 1935), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7106-establishing-the-malheur-migratory-bird-refuge.