By Jessica Domel
News Editor

The legal battle over property along the Red River will continue to rage on in 2017.

The lawsuit, set for trial in July 2017, challenges the federal Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) claim on property along the river that forms the border between Texas and Oklahoma.

“Right now, we are awaiting the trial court’s rulings on the federal government’s motions to dismiss against the state of Texas and also the Texas General Land Office,” Robert Henneke, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, said.

Henneke is general counsel and director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s (TPPF) Center for the American Future, which is representing seven landowners, Wichita, Clay and Wilbarger counties and the Clay County sheriff.

If the government’s motions are granted, both the state and GLO will be removed as plaintiffs from the lawsuit. If they’re denied, both also will be allowed to participate in the case fighting for private property rights along the Red River.

The discovery phase of the case is ongoing, and Henneke reports he feels positive moving forward.

“We’ve got the strength of law and the facts on our side in terms of how property ownership and the boundary is defined along the Red River,” Henneke said.

BLM and the federal government claim federal territory in Oklahoma overlaps into Texas. It asserts the private property in that area along the Red River in Wilbarger, Wichita and Clay counties belongs to the federal government and not Texas landowners.

“This is another example of federal agency overreach by our current administration,” according to Regan Beck, director of Government Affairs for Texas Farm Bureau. “Texas Farm Bureau has been working to address this issue at all levels–with the federal agency, in Congress and is monitoring for possibly filing an amicus brief as well.”

Along with taking private property without compensation, the lands the BLM claims could be taken off the tax rolls, which would negatively affect those counties.

TPPF’s Center for the American Future, which is non-profit, has set up a website to allow the affected landowners to tell their story at www.RedRiverPropertyRights.com.