A U.S. District Court cleared the way this week for Texas to intervene and join a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), according to The Dallas Morning News. The suit involves 90,000 acres of land along the Texas-Oklahoma border and seeks to establish recognition of the state’s boundary by challenging federal encroachment along the Red River.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the decision.
“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,” Paxton said in a statement. “The federal government must follow the law and recognize our correct borders, consistent with decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court defining the boundary formed by the Red River.”
The federal agency claims the land is public, but Texas families have deeds for the land and have paid taxes on it.
Last fall, Texas farmer Tommy Henderson regained an integral part of his farm after a year-and-a-half-long battle with BLM.