320 acres per person, and adjusting the Desert Land Act of 1877 more tightly for future land sales by requiring a greater degree of evidence of irrigation plans. As an added component, the General Revision Act of 1891 authorized the president (executive branch) to set apart and reserve forested lands as public reservations upon previously unclaimed land parcels. In addition to congressional support in Washington, the act's passage was supported by professional foresters and western water companies. Professional foresters supported limiting commercial over-exploitation of western timberlands, as they hoped to secure timber capital for future extraction and development. Similarly, western water companies supported the act on the grounds of increased watershed protection for irrigation purposes by the maintenance of previously forested lands. Subsequent actions On March 30, less than a month after the act was passed, President Harrison established the Yellowstone Park Timberland Reserve to create a protective boundary around Yellowstone National Park. Harrison went on to set aside more than as forest reserves, in addition to creating Sequoia, General Grant, and Yosemite National Parks. President Cleveland continued Harrison's conservation policies by creating more than of forest reserves. of these were designated in a single day: Cleveland issued 13 separate proclamations on February 22, 1897, just two weeks before the end of his final term. This action generated a great deal of controversy in the affected states, mainly in the west; the Seattle Chamber of Commerce noted that even "King George had never attempted so high-handed an invasion upon the rights" of American citizens. The Republican-controlled Congress attempted to invalidate Cleveland's actions by passing an amendment to the Sundry Civil Appropriations Act, a critical funding bill, forcing the Democratic president to choose "between funding the federal government or preserving his forest reserves". Cleveland decided in favor of the government shutdown and pocket-vetoed the bill on his last day in office. Congress made no further attempt to reverse Cleveland's actions or restrict the president from creating new reserves after Republican William McKinley took office on March 4. In fact, Congress reaffirmed executive authority to designate forest reserves, though the act they passed in June 1897 added language that required that any new reserves must protect forest or watersheds and "furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of citizens of the United States". Although McKinley did reduce the size of a few of his predecessor's reserves, he ultimately