A lawsuit filed on behalf of Red River landowners against the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) continues to gain support.

This week, a federal court approved the Texas General Land Office’s (GLO) request to intervene in the lawsuit that questions the BLM’s claim that the 116 miles along the Texas-Oklahoma border belongs to the federal government and not the private landowners who have paid taxes on and cared for the land for, in many cases, decades or generations.

According to the Austin American Statesman, Land Commissioner George P. Bush asked to join the suit because the GLO manages 78 miles along the Red River on behalf of the Permanent School Fund.

In a statement, Bush said the GLO must stand up to the BLM’s “continued attempts to unlawfully take privately and publicly owned lands.”

He continued, “When it comes to property rights, don’t mess with Texas. Ever.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also been allowed to join the suit, which was filed in November by the Texas Public Policy Foundation on behalf of seven Red River landowners.

Congressman Mac Thornberry is also contributing to the case.

According to the Times Record News, Thornberry—with the support of 19 other Texas representatives and both Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz—has filed an amicus brief in support of landowners.

Thornberry told the Wichita Falls paper he believes the BLM is approaching the situation in a way that is not consistent with past Supreme Court rulings on the matter.

The amicus brief claims the BLM: 1) overstepped its legal authority without using proper survey methodology; and 2) used unapproved application of the gradient boundary.

The brief goes on to make a third point—the impact of the BLM’s decision could go beyond the 116 miles along the Red River.

Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Red River Private Property Protection Act by Thornberry and Cornyn. The bill sought to protect the private property rights of landowners along the Red River from the BLM.

The companion bill is still pending in the Senate.