ALASKA By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in the President by the act of June 4, 1897, 30 Stat. 11, 36 (U.S.C., title 16, sec. 473), and upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture, it is ordered that the following-described tracts of land in Alaska, occupied for trade and manufacturing purposes or as homesites and identified by elimination surveys, plats and field notes of which are on file in the General Land Office, Washington, D. C., be, and they are hereby, excluded from the Chugach or Tongass National Forest, as hereinafter indicated, and restored to entry under the applicable public-land laws: CHUGACH NATIONAL FOREST Saltery Site, on the east shore of Evans Island, 17.80 acres; latitude 60°02'20" N., longitude 148°04'30" W.; Cannery Site on the south shore of Thumb Bay, Knight Island, 10 acres; latitude 60°12'15" N., longitude 147°49'20" W.; Homesite No. 37, on the west shore of Elrlngton Island, 4.68 acres; latitude 60°01'12" N., longitude 148°02'06" W.; TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST Homesite No. 101, Fritz Cove Group, 5.70 acres; latitude 58°21'30" N., longitude 134°38' W.; Homesite No. 216, Tee Harbor Group, 4.75 acres; approximate latitude 58°24'35" N., longitude 134°45'40" W.; Homesite No. 222, lot "A", Auke Lake Group 3.61 acres, approximate latitude 58°23'30" N., longitude 134°37'30" W.; Homesite No. 273, Mountain Point Group, Revillagigedo Island, 1.49 acres; approximate latitude 55°17'46" N., longitude 131°31'35" W.; Homeslte No. 328, lot "P", Scow Bay Group, Mltkof Island, 4.86 acres, approximate latitude 56°44'30" N., longitude 132°56'30" W.; Homesite No. 384, lot "B", Mud Bay Group, Revillagigedo Island, 4.58 acres, latitude 55°24'N., longitude 131°45' W.; Homesite No. 400, lot "M", Triangle Group, 4.58 acres; approximate latitude 58°22'50" N., longitude 134°38'18" W.; Homesite No. 431, lot "L", Pederson Hill Group, 1.92 acres, approximate latitude 53°22'48" N., longitude 134°37'40" W.; Homesite No., 433, Mountain Point Group. Revillagigedo Island, 0.91 of an acre, approximate latitude 55°21'30" N., longitude 131°32'15" W.; Homesite No. 444, lot "D", Pederson Hill Group, 3.98 acres, latitude 58°22'40" N., longitude 134°37'28" W.; Homesite No. 446, lot "Z", Wrangell Group, Wrangell Island, 4.96 acres; approximate latitude 56°25'10" N., longitude 132°21'30" W.; Homesite No. 470, East Craig Group, Prince of Wales Island, 0.45 of an acre, approximate latitude 55°28'42" N., longitude 133°08'30" W.; Homesite No. 487, lot "F", Herring Bay Group, Revillagigedo Island, 3.63 acres, approximate latitude 55°19'35" N., longitude 131°31'10" W.; Homesite No. 499, lot "J", Triangle Group, 4.35 acres, approximate latitude 58°23'05" N., longitude 134°38'30" W.; Homesite No. 506, lot "K", Mud Bay Group, Revillagigedo Island, 4.95 acres, approximate latitude 55°25' N., longitude 131°45'40" W.; Homesite No. 534, lot "Hl", Triangle Group, 1.85 acres, approximate latitude 58°23'N., longitude 134°38' W.; Homesite No. 536, Scow Bay Group, Wrangell Island, 4.90 acres, approximate latitude 56°27' N., longitude 132°22'40" W.; Homesite No. 545, on Tenakee Inlet, Chichagof Island, 3.71 acres, latitude 57°46'30" N., longitude 135°05' W.; Homesite No. 573, Fisherman's Harbor Group, Kosciusko Island, 0.40 of an acre, approximate latitude 65°57'55" N., longitude 133°47'56" W.; Homesite No. 574, Fisherman's Harbor Group, Kosciusko Island, 1.62 acres, approximate latitude 65°57'55" N., longitude 133°47'66" W.; Homesite No. 624, on Willoughby Cove, Lemesurler Island, 4.94 acres, latitude 58°16'30" N., longitude 136°03' W.; Homesite No. 625, on Lacy Cove, Chichagof Island, 4.19 acres, approximate latitude 58°13' N., longitude 136°20' W. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, June 15, 1939.
Executive Order 8172—Excluding Certain Tracts of Land From the Chugach and Tongass National Forests and Restoring Them to Entry
Executive Brief • At a Glance
The following-described tracts of land in Alaska, occupied for trade and manufacturing purposes or as homesites and identified by elimination surveys, plats and field notes of which are on file in the General Land Office, Washington, D. C., be, and they are hereby, excluded from the Chugach or Tongass National Forest, as hereinafter indicated, and restored to entry under the applicable public-land laws: CHUGACH NATIONAL FOREST Saltery Site, on the east shore of Evans Island, 17.80 acres; latitude 60°02'20" N., longitude 148°04'30" W.; Cannery Site on the south shore of Thumb Bay, Knight Island, 10 acres; latitude 60°12'15" N., longitude 147°49'20" W.; Homesite No. 37, on the west shore of Elrlngton Island, 4.68 acres; latitude 60°01'12"…
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 June 15, 1939, this order concerns Excluding Certain Tracts of Land From the Chugach and Tongass National Forests and Restoring Them to Entry. The following-described tracts of land in Alaska, occupied for trade and manufacturing purposes or as homesites and identified by elimination surveys, plats and field notes of which are on file in the General Land Office, Washington, D. C., be, and they are hereby, excluded from the Chugach or Tongass National Forest, as hereinafter indicated, and restored to entry under the applicable public-land laws: CHUGACH…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
The following-described tracts of land in Alaska, occupied for trade and manufacturing purposes or as homesites and identified by elimination surveys, plats and field notes of which are on file in the General Land Office, Washington, D. C., be, and they are hereby, excluded from the Chugach or Tongass National Forest, as hereinafter indicated, and restored to entry under the applicable public-land laws: CHUGACH NATIONAL FOREST Saltery Site, on the east shore of Evans Island, 17.80 acres; latitude 60°02'20" N., longitude 148°04'30" W.; Cannery Site on the south shore of Thumb Bay, Knight Island, 10 acres; latitude 60°12'15" N., longitude 147°49'20" W.; Homesite No. 37, on the west shore of Elrlngton Island, 4.68 acres; latitude 60°01'12"…
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 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
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
Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.
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. 8172 (June 15, 1939), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8172-excluding-certain-tracts-land-from-the-chugach-and-tongass-national.