MINNESOTA By virtue of 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 areas, comprising 1,585 acres, more or less, in Marshall County, Minnesota, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart, subject to valid existing rights, for the use of the Department of the Interior, as an addition to the Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge, established by Executive Order No. 7583 of March 23, 1937, as the Mud Lake Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, the name of which was changed to Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge by Proclamation No. 2416 of July 25, 1940: FIFTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 156 N., R. 40 W., sec. 5, SW ¼ NE ¼ and S ½ NW ¼; sec. 6, SE ¼ NE ¼; sec. 9, SW ¼; T. 157 N., R. 40 W., sec. 19, NE ¼; T. 157 N., R. 41 W., sec. 24, N ½ NW ¼; T. 155 N., R. 42 W., sec. 1, lot 4, SW ¼, and W ½ SE ¼; sec. 2, lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10, W ½ SW ¼, and E ½ SE ¼; sec. 3, lots 1, 2, 3, 14, and 15; and that part of the unsuveyed area returned as lake and shown segregated on the General Land Office plat approved May 16, 1983, as Elm Lake, and bounded by the following-described lines: Beginning at the meander corner common to sections 3 and 10 on the east shore of Elm Lake; thence northwesterly to the center of the lake; thence northeasterly to the corner common to lots 11 and 12, section 3, on the northerly shore of the lake; thence along the shore of the lake, southeasterly and southerly to the place of beginning. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT The White House, November 20, 1940.
Executive Order 8601—Enlarging the Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Executive Brief • At a Glance
All lands owned or controlled by the United States within the following-described areas, comprising 1,585 acres, more or less, in Marshall County, Minnesota, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart, subject to valid existing rights, for the use of the Department of the Interior, as an addition to the Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge, established by Executive Order No. 7583 of March 23, 1937, as the Mud Lake Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, the name of which was changed to Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge by Proclamation No. 2416 of July 25, 1940: FIFTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 156 N., R. 40 W., sec. 5, SW ¼ NE ¼ and S ½ NW ¼; sec. 6, SE ¼ NE ¼; sec. 9, SW ¼; T. 157 N., R. 40 W., sec. 19, NE ¼; T. 157 N., R. 41 W., sec. 24, N ½ NW ¼; T.…
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 November 20, 1940, this order concerns Enlarging the Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge. All lands owned or controlled by the United States within the following-described areas, comprising 1,585 acres, more or less, in Marshall County, Minnesota, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart, subject to valid existing rights, for the use of the Department of the Interior, as an addition to the Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge, established by Executive Order No. 7583 of March 23, 1937, as the Mud…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
All lands owned or controlled by the United States within the following-described areas, comprising 1,585 acres, more or less, in Marshall County, Minnesota, be, and they are hereby, reserved and set apart, subject to valid existing rights, for the use of the Department of the Interior, as an addition to the Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge, established by Executive Order No. 7583 of March 23, 1937, as the Mud Lake Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, the name of which was changed to Mud Lake National Wildlife Refuge by Proclamation No. 2416 of July 25, 1940: FIFTH PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN T. 156 N., R. 40 W., sec. 5, SW ¼ NE ¼ and S ½ NW ¼; sec. 6, SE ¼ NE ¼; sec. 9, SW ¼; T. 157 N., R. 40 W., sec. 19, NE ¼; T. 157 N., R. 41 W., sec. 24, N ½ NW ¼; T.…
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
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 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. 8601 (Nov. 20, 1940), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8601-enlarging-the-mud-lake-national-wildlife-refuge.