Texas landowners fight federal government over Red River 'land grab'

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Parties Settle Red River Dispute
Posted on November 27, 2017 by tiffany.dowell

In November, a settlement was reached in an ongoing dispute between the federal Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) and Texas landowners who own land along the Red River, which separates Texas and Oklahoma.  Under the settlement, the parties agree on how the southern boundary of the Red River is to be determined going forward–based on the gradient boundary line, but the current gradient boundary was not specifically identified.

Factual Background

This case involves a heated dispute between the BLM and Texas landowners with property along the Red River.  In the early 2000’s, the BLM began re-surveying the land adjacent to the river at the request of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  In 2009, the BLM published updated spot surveys in the Federal Register showing land from the identified medial line of the river to the identified southern boundary to be federally owned.  The BLM took the original position that because the boundary of the river was meant to be “relatively permanent,” that the boundary had remained largely the same as it was in the 1920’s.  Because the river had shifted over the past century, there were portions of now-dry land on the Texas side of the river that still belonged to the federal government, rather than the citizens who claimed ownership.  The landowners had purchased, utilized, and paid property taxes on the land in question for decades.  In some cases, the 2009 survey stakes were more than a mile from the current bank of the river.


More at LINK below


https://agrilife.org/texasaglaw/2017/11/27/parties-settle-red-river-dispute/

[IsailedawayfromFR]

My sister whose husband had 1000 acres taken from him that has been in his family for 60 years told me this was resolved in favor of the landowners.

Quite a difference when sometimes there is a bureaucracy in place that performs the way they are supposed to perform rather than acting like totalitarian dictators obsessed with power and control.

Parties Settle Red River Dispute

In November, a settlement was reached in an ongoing dispute between the federal Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) and Texas landowners who own land along the Red River, which separates Texas and Oklahoma.  Under the settlement, the parties agree on how the southern boundary of the Red River is to be determined going forward–based on the gradient boundary line, but the current gradient boundary was not specifically identified.

https://agrilife.org/texasaglaw/2017/11/27/parties-settle-red-river-dispute/