A motion for the state of Texas to intervene in a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Land Management regarding the Red River “land grab” was granted on Monday. The ruling was applauded by Gov. Greg Abbott, who promptly took to Twitter to share the news, adding that if the government wants it, they will have to come and take it.
The dispute began in 2014 when the BLM attempted to take control of 90,000 acres of land along the Red River bordering Texas and Oklahoma. Three decades ago, an Oklahoma judge ruled the land belonged to the federal government and was to be managed by the BLM, according to The Texas Tribune. Only recently, however, has the BLM showed interest in determining how the land will be used over the next 15 to 20 years.
Several Texas families, who have long managed the land and paid taxes on it, counter the agency’s claims and say it belongs to them. In November, seven Texas landowners filed a lawsuit against the BLM, accusing the agency of “perpetrating an ‘arbitrary seizure’ of land along a 116-mile strip of the river,” reported the Tribune.
GOOD NEWS: Texas is allowed to sue Federal Bureau of Land Management for Red River land grab. #Come&TakeIt #tcot https://t.co/bXCiQknytX
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 15, 2016
Texas landowners prepare for fight against the BLM
Three counties, including Wichita, Clay, and Wilbarger, as well as the Clay County sheriff, have joined the lawsuit. Those entities, the sheriff, and the Texas landowners, are being represented by the Austin-based Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), which is challenging the BLM’s acquisition as being unconstitutional.
“BLM’s claim of up to 90,000 acres of private property along the Red River as federal land is nothing short of abusive,” said Robert Henneke, Director of the Center for the American Freedom at TPPF.
“As recognized by the Supreme Court, BLM’s territory is and has always been only the ‘thin strip of sand’ inside the riverbank—not inside of Texas. The Center for the American Future fiercely opposes BLM’s attempt to take our clients homes and intrude upon the sovereignty of Clay, Wichita, and Wilbarger Counties.”
One of the plaintiffs in the case said the government is trying to take land he intended on giving to his children.
“My family has been on this land for generations, and now the federal government claims they own it,” said Kenneth Aderholt. “They are trying to take my house, my ranch, and my livelihood. I want to give this land to my children, not the BLM. Thankfully the Texas Public Policy Foundation is helping me fight the land grab.”
Texas fights back against government overreach
Abbott and other Texas politicians have expressed support for landowners and their lawsuit against the BLM.
“Washington, D.C., needs to hear, loud and clear, that Texas will not stand for the federal government’s infringement upon Texas land and the property rights of the people who live here,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Paxton filed the motion with the U.S. District Court requesting that Texas be allowed to get involved with the suit against the BLM, reported The Dallas Morning News.
“I applaud the private property owners and county officials for standing up against the federal government’s brazen attempt to take private property from Texans,” Abbott said in November.
“I wholeheartedly support the landowners’ in their litigation against the Bureau of Land Management, and will be filing an amicus brief in support of their lawsuit.”
The BLM’s newfound interest in the property is a result of its desire to update its resource management plan, which could include future leasing, and/or mineral and natural oil and gas extraction.
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