TSCRA announced support July 29 of H.R. 4979, also known as the Red River Private Property Protection Act, authored by Rep. Mac Thornberry, Texas, Dist. 13. The legislation provides legal certainty for landowners along the Red River. TSCRA submitted a letter of support for the record at a hearing before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation.
TSCRA supports H.R. 4979 because it directs the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to relinquish and transfer quit claim deeds to landowners who can prove ownership through official state and county records. Additionally, it prevents the BLM from including any privately owned acres in a Resource Management Plan.
“TSCRA strongly supports H.R. 4979, the Red River Private Property Protection Act,” said TSCRA President Pete Bonds, Saginaw. “This legislation would save landowners legal expenses regarding property they have owned for years along the Red River. TSCRA opposes any federal control or management of land on the Texas side of the Red River and is concerned that such control will take away the long held and legally established private property rights of Texas landowners. TSCRA is pleased H.R. 4979 was discussed in a hearing today, and we urge the committee to move forward with this legislation. We must make certain this issue is resolved and Texas landowners are provided with the certainty they deserve.”