OREGON By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States and by the act of June 25, 1910, c. 421, 36 Stat. 847, as amended by the act of August 24, 1912, c. 369, 37 Stat. 497, it is ordered that all lands of the United States within the following-described area, comprising 1,495.21 acres, more or less, in Baker and Union Counties, Oregon, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of the Interior as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN T. 6 8., R. 40 E., sec. 16, all that part of the SW¼SW¼ bounded by the following-described lines: Beginning at the south one-sixteenth corner common to secs. 16 and 17; Thence in the SW¼SW¼, sec. 16, S. 35°25' E., 609 feet; S. 27°15' E., 335 feet; S. 12°00' E., 393 feet; S. 2°30' W., 132 feet to a point in the line common to secs. 16 and 21; Thence with said section line, S. 89°10' W., 150 feet; Thence in the SW¼SW¼, sec. 16, N. 5°25' W., 283 feet; N. 24°00' W., 325 feet; N. 46°10' W., 390 feet to a point in the line common to secs. 16 and 17; Thence with said section line, N. 1°00' E., 464 feet to the place of beginning; sec. 21, all that part bounded by the following-described lines: Beginning at the north one-sixteenth corner common to secs. 21 and 22; Thence with the line common to said sections, S. 3°30' W., 625 feet; Thence in sec. 21, S. 81°35' W., 390 feet; S. 38°20' W., 252 feet; S. 26°20' E., 465 feet to a point in the center line of sec. 21; S. 17°00' E., 1,044 feet to a point in the line common to secs. 21 and 22; Thence with said section line, S. 0°30' E., 238 feet; Thence in sec. 21, S. 60°00' W., 376 feet; S. 1°10' E., 370 feet; S. 77°40' W., 355 feet; N. 66°20' W., 336 feet; S. 85°10' W., 316 feet; S. 79°25' W., 350 feet; N. 62°30' W., 408 feet; N. 1°45' E., 168 feet; N. 42°10' W., 852 feet to a point in the center line of. sec. 21; N. 46°00' W., 452 feet; N. 7°35' W., 191 feet; N. 49°15' W., 329 feet to a point in the center line of sec. 21; N. 53°20' W., 843 feet; N. 24°05' W., 380 feet; N. 42°45' W., 459 feet; N. 33°55' W., 505 feet; N. 63°45' W., 267 feet; N. 1°10' E., 528 feet; N. 38°25' E., 277 feet; N. 5°25' W., 90 feet to a point in the line common to secs. 16 and 21; Thence with said section line, N. 89°10' E., 150 feet; Thence in sec. 21, S. 2°30' W., 397 feet; S. 20°55' E., 345 feet; S. 42°35' E., 842 feet; S. 53°35' E., 490 feet; S. 29°40' E., 225 feet; S. 49°25' E., 546 feet; S. 45°10' E., 504 feet to the center one-quarter corner of sec. 21; S. 20°00' E., 370 feet; S. 44°35' E., 565 feet; S. 88°25' E., 217 feet; S. 34°10' E., 395 feet; S. 73°00' E., 312 feet; N. 77°45' E., 220 feet; N. 39°10' E., 225 feet; N. 6°40' E., 246 feet; N. 13°15' W., 549 feet; N. 19°45' E., 258 feet to a point in the center line of sec. 21; N. 3°50' E., 310 feet; N. 35°10' W., 292 feet; N. 10°20' W., 330 feet; N. 52°05' W., 355 feet; N. 76°10' E., 330 feet; N. 35°10' E., 355 feet; N. 75°05' E., 272 feet; S. 82°25' E., 320 feet; N. 54°10' E., 292 feet; S. 71°00' E., 175 feet to a point in the line common to secs. 21 and 22; Thence with said section line, S. 3°30' W., 285 feet to the place of beginning; sec. 22, all that part of the NW¼NE¼ bounded by the followlng-descrlbed lines: Beginning at the center north one-sixteenth comer of sec. 22; Thence with the center line of said section, N. 0°32' E., 662 feet; Thence in the NW¼NE¼, sec. 22, S. 65°28' E., 660 feet; S. 84°53' E., 343 feet; S. 44°36' E., 530 feet to a point in the north one-sixteenth line of sec. 22; Thence with said one-sixteenth line, N. 89°07' W., 1,321 feet to the place of beginning; S½NE¼, NW¼, N½SW¼, and all that part of the SE¼SW¼ bounded by the following-described lines: Beginning at the one-quarter corner common to secs. 22 and 27; Thence with the line common to said sections, S. 89°35' W., 350 feet; Thence in the SE¼SW¼, sec. 22, N. 47°35' W., 400 feet; N. 5°05' W., 490 feet; N. 4°40' E., 385 feet; N. 44°33' W., 340 feet to a point in the south one-sixteenth line of sec. 22; Thence with said one-sixteenth line, N. 89°15' E., 910 feet to the center south one-sixteenth corner of sec. 22; Thence with the center line of sec. 22, S. 0°33' W., 1,369 feet to the place of beginning; and SE¼; sec. 23, NW¼NE¼, NE¼NW¼, S½NW¼, SW¼, and NW¼SE¼; sec. 26, lots 1 and 2, S½NW¼, and SW¼; sec. 27, all that part of lot 1 bounded by the followlng-described lines: Beginning at the one-quarter corner common to secs. 26 and 27; Thence with the line common to said sections, S. 0°43' E., 849.8 feet; Thence in lot 1, sec. 27, N. 73°38' W., 358.0 feet; N. 39°00' W., 975.3 feet to a point in the center line of sec. 27; Thence with said center line, S. 89°27' E., 946.5 feet to the place of beginning; NE¼ and E½NW¼. The lands herein reserved have been withdrawn or acquired for reclamation purposes in connection with the Baker Reclamation Project, and their reservation and use as the Thief Valley National Wildlife Refuge shall be without interference with their use for such reclamation purposes and pursuant to the reclamation laws. This reservation shall be known as the Thief Valley National Wildlife Refuge. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, October 22, 1940.
Executive Order 8575 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order 8575—Establishing the Thief Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 5 min read (1,013 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
All lands of the United States within the following-described area, comprising 1,495.21 acres, more or less, in Baker and Union Counties, Oregon, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of the Interior as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN T. 6 8., R. 40 E., sec. 16, all that part of the SW¼SW¼ bounded by the following-described lines: Beginning at the south one-sixteenth corner common to secs. 16 and 17; Thence in the SW¼SW¼, sec. 16, S. 35°25' E., 609 feet; S. 27°15' E., 335 feet; S. 12°00' E., 393 feet; S. 2°30' W., 132 feet to a point in the line common to secs. 16 and 21; Thence with said section line, S. 89°10' W., 150 feet; Thence in the…
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ 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 October 22, 1940, this order concerns Establishing the Thief Valley National Wildlife Refuge. All lands of the United States within the following-described area, comprising 1,495.21 acres, more or less, in Baker and Union Counties, Oregon, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of the Interior as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN T. 6 8., R. 40 E., sec. 16, all that part of the SW¼SW¼ bounded by the…
Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
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All lands of the United States within the following-described area, comprising 1,495.21 acres, more or less, in Baker and Union Counties, Oregon, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart for the use of the Department of the Interior as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife: WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN T. 6 8., R. 40 E., sec. 16, all that part of the SW¼SW¼ bounded by the following-described lines: Beginning at the south one-sixteenth corner common to secs. 16 and 17; Thence in the SW¼SW¼, sec. 16, S. 35°25' E., 609 feet; S. 27°15' E., 335 feet; S. 12°00' E., 393 feet; S. 2°30' W., 132 feet to a point in the line common to secs. 16 and 21; Thence with said section line, S. 89°10' W., 150 feet; Thence in the…
▪
The lands herein reserved have been withdrawn or acquired for reclamation purposes in connection with the Baker Reclamation Project, and their reservation and use as the Thief Valley National Wildlife Refuge shall be without interference with their use for such reclamation purposes and pursuant to the reclamation laws.
▪
This reservation shall be known as the Thief Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
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 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 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.
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.
⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
30 / 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
Moderate Friction
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.
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
1,013
5,244 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
3.1
Grade 3
Text size:
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📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
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📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 8575 (Oct. 22, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8575-establishing-the-thief-valley-national-wildlife-refuge.
