Presidential DocumentExecutive Order 144222026-18020
Honoring the American History of the Great Lakes and Renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America
Primary source
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Published
September 2, 2026
Signed
August 27, 2026
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 169 (Wednesday, September 2, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 169 (Wednesday, September 2, 2026)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 56543-56544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18020]
[[Page 56541]]
Vol. 91
Wednesday,
No. 169
September 2, 2026
Part II
The President
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Executive Order 14422--Honoring the American History of the Great Lakes
and Renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 91 , No. 169 / Wednesday, September 2, 2026 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 56543]]
Executive Order 14422 of August 27, 2026
Honoring the American History of the Great Lakes
and Renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose and Policy. As I announced in
Executive Order 14172 of January 20, 2025 (Restoring
Names That Honor American Greatness), it is the policy
of my Administration to recognize the extraordinary
contributions of the American people and the rich
heritage of our history by naming great natural
landmarks for our shared achievements. The United
States is the greatest protector of the Great Lakes,
including the body of water currently known as Lake
Ontario. Without the security and investment provided
by the United States, this freshwater system would not
be open for shipping, recreation, and responsible use
to the same extent as it is today. The United States
Coast Guard supplies 9 of the 11 ice breaking vessels
on the Great Lakes, securing commercial shipping lanes
free of charge. The United States has invested nearly
$4 billion in protecting the Great Lakes freshwater
ecosystem in the last decade, while Canada has invested
far less in similar initiatives over the same period.
Sec. 2. Lake America. (a) The body of water currently
known as Lake Ontario is a tremendous asset to the
United States and part of our Nation's heritage. With
the deepest parts of the Lake's waters lying within
United States territory, the United States claims most
of the Lake's volume. The Lake has long been an
integral asset to American exploration, settlement,
commerce, and defense. From the colonial period through
the early republic, the Lake served as a critical
artery for American trade, commerce, and military
logistics, including the establishment in Oswego of a
historic fort and the first United States port of call
from the St. Lawrence Seaway, shipbuilding and naval
operations during the War of 1812 at Sackets Harbor and
other New York posts, and the movement of goods,
settlers, and later industrial cargoes that linked the
interior of the United States to eastern markets and
the Atlantic. Maritime commerce on the broader Great
Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system--of which the Lake is
the easternmost and gateway segment--continues to
generate substantial economic activity for the United
States, supporting hundreds of thousands of American
jobs and billions of dollars in annual economic output,
cargo value, and related business revenue, with our
ports, carriers, and States deriving a significant
share of the system's benefits in iron ore, limestone,
coal, agricultural products, and other bulk
commodities. Water from the Lake is used to supply
nuclear, natural gas, and oil-fired power plants and to
supply municipal drinking water to nearby communities.
United States domestic and cross-border shipping
activity on the Great Lakes system has historically
underpinned regional manufacturing, steel production,
agriculture, and energy supply chains in several
States, reflecting the strategic and economic
importance of these waters to the United States that
continues to this day. The Lake will continue to play a
pivotal role in shaping America's future and the global
economy. In recognition of this flourishing economic
resource and its critical importance to our Nation's
economy and its people, I am directing that the Lake
officially be renamed as Lake America.
(b) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall, in
coordination with the Board on Geographic Names and
consistent with 43 U.S.C. 364 through 364f, take all
appropriate actions
[[Page 56544]]
to rename as ``Lake America'' the body of water
currently named as Lake Ontario, bounded on the south
and east by the State of New York, and on the north,
west, and southwest by the Canadian province of
Ontario. The Secretary, conjointly with the Board on
Geographic Names, shall subsequently update the
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) to reflect
the renaming of the Lake and remove all references to
Lake Ontario from the GNIS, consistent with applicable
law. The Board on Geographic Names shall provide
guidance to ensure all Federal Government references to
Lake Ontario, including on executive department and
agency maps, contracts, and other documents and
communications, shall reflect its renaming.
Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(d) The costs for publication of this order shall
be borne by the Department of the Interior.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
August 27, 2026.
[FR Doc. 2026-18020
Filed 9-1-26; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4310-10-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 2, 2026.
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