FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Dec. 9, 2015
CONTACT: Laramie Adams
CELL: 512-922-7328
Fort Worth, Texas – Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) President Pete Bonds today made the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2130, the Red River Private Property Protection Act, championed by Rep. Mac Thornberry.
“For years, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has been claiming ownership of land that belongs to private property owners along the Red River,” said Bonds. “This is completely absurd, especially when you consider the fact that these citizens hold the deeds to this land and have paid taxes and successfully managed it for years.
”I am pleased the Red River Private Property Protection Act was passed in the House today to help put this issue to rest. This legislation requires the BLM to survey the land in question using methods backed by the Supreme Court to find the proper gradient boundary. Since the BLM is claiming land up to a mile south of the proper boundary set by the Supreme Court in the 1920’s, I am sure the BLM is hesitant to perform surveys because they know the land doesn’t rightfully belong to the federal government.
“The President announced he will veto this legislation if it makes it to his desk. This is becoming routine and further proves the administration is forcefully pushing their bureaucratic land grab agenda.
“TSCRA appreciates Rep. Mac Thornberry and Sen. John Cornyn for crafting this legislation and listening to our members and other landowners concerns on this issue. We encourage the Senate to swiftly consider this bill to help preserve private property rights,” Bonds concluded.
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TSCRA is a 138-year-old trade association and is the largest and oldest livestock organization based in Texas. TSCRA has more than 17,000 beef cattle operations, ranching families and businesses as members. These members represent approximately 50,000 individuals directly involved in ranching and beef production who manage 4 million head of cattle on 76 million acres of range and pasture land primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, but throughout the Southwest.