NORTH CAROLINA 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 all lands owned or controlled by the United States within the following-described area in Dare County, North Carolina, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart, subject to valid existing rights, for the use of the Department of Agriculture as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: Provided , that any private lands within the area described shall become a part of the refuge hereby established upon the acquisition of title thereto or lease thereof by the United States: Beginning at a point on the north end of Pea Island on the south shore of Oregon Inlet, from which point a U.S. Biological Survey standard concrete post set for a witness corner bears south, 0.50 chain distant; Thence from said initial point, along the east side of Pea Island, with the meanders of Oregon Inlet and the Atlantic Coast, N. 81°29' E., 7.72 chains; S. 82°11' E., 10.81 chains; S. 71°52' E, 12.00 chains; S. 28°29' E., 20.00 chains; S. 28°53' E., 26.43 chains; S. 31°14' E., 20.33 chains; S. 36°56' E., 12.57 chains; S. 32°43' E., 20.00 chains; S. 31°34' E., 40.71 chains; S. 28°12' E., 80.00 chains; S. 32°07' E., 8.59 chains; S. 20°59' E., 40.00 chains; S. 23°06' E., 15.21 chains; S. 16°20' E., 37.87 chains; S. 16°21' E., 215.39 chains; S. 14°24' E., 50.00 chains; S. 5°58' E., 40.00 chains; S. 8°29' W., 17.80 chains, to a point on the south end of Pea Island on the north shore of New Inlet; Thence crowing New Inlet, S. 31°58' E., 12.30 chains, to a point on the northeast corner of Chicascomitco Island; Thence along the east side of Chicamacomico Island with the meanders of the Atlantic Coast, S. 5°31' E., 29.27 chains; S. 9°53' E., 80.11 chains; S. 13°30' E., 80.31 chains; S. 10°35' E., 62.50 chains; S. 14°17' E., 40.00 chains; S. 12°58' E., 40.00 chains; S. 7°58' E., 21.53 chains, to a point from which a U.S. Biological Survey standard concrete post set for a witness corner bears S. 81°40' W., 2.00 chains distant; Thence inland, crossing Chicamacomico Island, S. 81°40' W., 41.76 chains, to a point on the west side thereof on the east shore of Pamlico Sound, from which point a U.S. Biological Survey standard concrete post set for a witness corner bears N. 81°40' E., 0.10 chain distant; Thence with four courses in Pamlico Sound, west, 40.00 chains to a point; N. 19°51' W., 455.00 chains to a point from which the southwest corner of Jack Shoal bears east 40.00 chains distant; N. 17°32' W., 563.00 chains to a point; east, 80.00 chains to the place of beginning. Those lands within the area described above which are in use as Coast Guard Stations shall remain under the primary jurisdiction of the Treasury Department, and their reservation as a wildlife refuge shall be subject at all times to use by that Department for Coast Guard purposes; and the enforcement of law by the Department of Agriculture shall be without interference with any existing or future regulations of the Treasury Department concerning the administration of those lands. This reservation shall be known as the Pea Island Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, April 8, 1938.
Executive Order 7864—Establishing Pea Island Migratory Waterfowl Refuge
Executive Brief • At a Glance
All lands owned or controlled by the United States within the following-described area in Dare County, North Carolina, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart, subject to valid existing rights, for the use of the Department of Agriculture as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: Provided , that any private lands within the area described shall become a part of the refuge hereby established upon the acquisition of title thereto or lease thereof by the United States: Beginning at a point on the north end of Pea Island on the south shore of Oregon Inlet, from which point a U.S. Biological Survey standard concrete post set for a witness corner bears south, 0.50 chain distant; Thence from said initial…
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 April 8, 1938, this order concerns Establishing Pea Island Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. All lands owned or controlled by the United States within the following-described area in Dare County, North Carolina, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart, subject to valid existing rights, for the use of the Department of Agriculture as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: Provided , that any private lands within the area described shall become a part of the refuge…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
All lands owned or controlled by the United States within the following-described area in Dare County, North Carolina, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart, subject to valid existing rights, for the use of the Department of Agriculture as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: Provided , that any private lands within the area described shall become a part of the refuge hereby established upon the acquisition of title thereto or lease thereof by the United States: Beginning at a point on the north end of Pea Island on the south shore of Oregon Inlet, from which point a U.S. Biological Survey standard concrete post set for a witness corner bears south, 0.50 chain distant; Thence from said initial…
Those lands within the area described above which are in use as Coast Guard Stations shall remain under the primary jurisdiction of the Treasury Department, and their reservation as a wildlife refuge shall be subject at all times to use by that Department for Coast Guard purposes; and the enforcement of law by the Department of Agriculture shall be without interference with any existing or future regulations of the Treasury Department concerning the administration of those lands.
This reservation shall be known as the Pea Island Migratory Waterfowl Refuge.
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 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."
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.
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)
Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)
The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.
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
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
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 President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 7864 (Apr. 8, 1938), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7864-establishing-pea-island-migratory-waterfowl-refuge.