ExecutiveOrdersEO
Proc 8943ProclamationObama · D

Proclamation 8943

Establishment of the Harriet TubmanUnderground Railroad National Monument

President Obama used the Antiquities Act to establish the Harriet Tubman—Underground Railroad National Monument in Dorchester County, Maryland, withdrawing approximately 11,750 acres of federal land from development and directing the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to jointly manage the site. The proclamation requires a management plan within 3 years to preserve historic resources, commemorate Tubman's life, and interpret the Underground Railroad's significance.

Federal Register Open PDF 78 FR 18763

Impact dates

  1. Secretary of Interior must prepare management plan with full public involvement

Key directives

  • Establish Harriet Tubman—Underground Railroad National Monument on approximately 11,750 acres
  • Withdraw federal lands from all forms of entry, location, selection, sale, leasing, or other disposition under public land laws
  • Withdraw from location, entry, and patent under mining laws
  • Withdraw from disposition under mineral and geothermal leasing laws
  • Secretary of Interior to manage monument through NPS and USFWS pursuant to respective authorities
  • NPS to have general administrative responsibility including Jacob Jackson Home Site
  • USFWS to administer portions within National Wildlife Refuge System
  • Secretary to determine administration system (NPS or USFWS) for future acquired lands
  • Hunting and fishing to continue under USFWS administration per National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act
  • NPS and USFWS to enter into arrangements to share resources and services
  • NPS to offer cooperative management arrangements with State of Maryland
  • Secretary to prepare management plan with full public involvement within 3 years

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Monument establishment and land withdrawal from entry, sale, leasing, mining, and mineral/geothermal disposition

Near term (90d)

  • Inter-agency arrangements between NPS and USFWS for shared resource management
  • NPS offer to enter cooperative management arrangements with Maryland

Long term

  • Management plan due within 3 years of proclamation (by March 25, 2016)
  • Potential acquisition of additional non-federal lands within monument boundaries
  • Ongoing joint administration of monument by NPS and USFWS

Risks & tensions

  • Potential jurisdictional complexity between NPS and USFWS co-management requiring careful coordination
  • State-federal cooperative management with Maryland may create implementation friction
  • Land acquisition of remaining non-federal parcels within boundaries depends on future congressional appropriations or donations
  • Vague whether 'valid existing rights' could complicate full withdrawal protections
Proclamation 8943: Establishment of the Harriet TubmanUnderground Railroad National Monument · Executive Orders