Executive Order 8548—Establishing the North Carolina Wildlife Management Area

NORTH CAROLINA Whereas certain lands in the State of North Carolina, together with the improvements thereon, have been, or are in process of being, acquired under the authority of Title II of the National Industrial Recovery Act, approved June 16, 1933 (48 Stat. 200), the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, approved April 8, 1935 (49 Stat. 115), and Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, approved July 22, 1937 (50 Stat. 525), in connection with the Sandhills Land Utilization and Land Conservation Project, LA-NC-3; and Whereas by Executive Order No. 7908 of June 9, 1938, all the right, title, and interest of the United States in such lands as were acquired, or are in process of acquisition, under Title II of the said National Industrial Recovery Act and the said Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 were transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture for use, administration, and disposition in accordance with the provisions of Title III of the said Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, and the related provisions of Title IV thereof; and immediately upon acquisition of legal title to those lands now in process of acquisition under said acts, the said order, under the terms thereof, will become applicable to all the additional right, title, and interest thereby acquired by the United States; and Whereas it appears that the reservation of such lands as a refuge and breeding ground for native birds and other wildlife and for research relating to wildlife and associated forest resources would be in the public interest: Now, Therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 32, Title III of the said Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, and as President of the United States, and upon recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture, it is ordered (1) that, subject to valid existing rights, jurisdiction over the lands, together with the improvements thereon, acquired, or in process of acquisition, by the United States within the area shown on the diagram attached hereto and made a part hereof, comprising 58,900 acres, more or less, in Moore, Richmond, and Scotland Counties, North Carolina, be, and it is hereby, transferred to the Department of the Interior, together with such equipment in use in connection with such lands as may be designated by the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) that the said area be, and it is hereby, reserved as a refuge and breeding ground for native birds and other wildlife and for research relating to wildlife and associated forest resources, under such conditions of use and administration as will best carry out the purposes of the land-conservation and land-utilization program for which such lands have been and are being acquired: Provided, however , (1) that such lands shall remain available to the State of North Carolina for use and management by its Department of Conservation and Development, under the custody of the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior, so long as there remains in force and effect a cooperative and license agreement between the United States of America and the State of North Carolina providing for such use and management; and (2) that the Secretary of Agriculture shall retain such jurisdiction over the lands now in process of acquisition by the United States as may be necessary to enable him to complete their acquisition. This reservation shall be known as the North Carolina Wildlife Management Area. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, September 24, 1940.