Midnight forests was a nickname given to the forests created by President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt near the end of his term as president. In early 1891, Congress was reconsidering provisions in the nation's land laws. An amendment (Section 24) attached to the legislation would allow the President of the United States to set aside forest reserves from the land in the public domain. The act, signed on March 3, 1891, was later referred to as the Creative Act, or the Forest Reserve Act.