Texas land owner claims victory in settlement with BLM

WICHITA FALLS, Texas - A Clay County landowner can claim victory in a long-simmering dispute with the Bureau of Land Management. Family farmer Tommy Henderson on Thursday got a patent from the U.S. government on land along the Red River he claims his family has owned since 1904. Henderson said he hopes the signing of the patent at the Clay County Courthouse paves the way for dozens of other landowners to resolve a dispute with the government that has dragged on for decades. In 1984, a court decision determined the federal government owned a strip of land Henderson held deed to along the river. Other landowners along the Texas bank found themselves facing the same predicament. In officially acquiring the patent on 94 acres Thursday, Henderson said he hoped a “step was taken that will help other landowners.” “This blazes the trail,” he said. Under the agreement with Bureau of Land Management, Henderson actually purchases the land in question. The purchase is possible under a “Color of Title” stipulation that enables a landholder to buy the disputed land if he can show clear title, payment of taxes, improvements and “good faith” possession. However the price can be offset by taxes he has paid and other considerations. With those deductions from the price, Henderson said he paid about $1 per acre plus some fees. “I can live with that,” he said. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-13th Dist., who has come down squarely on the side of the landholders in their dispute with the government, said Thursday, “It is good that Mr. Henderson was finally able to get back a portion of his land that he lost in the 1980s, but it never should have happened in the first place,” In his statement, Thornberry said “Three decades to correct that mistake is ridiculous.” Henderson’s land is just a small portion of about 90,000 of disputed acres that range along the river from near Doans Crossing in Wilbarger County to just north of the unincorporated community of Stanfield in northern Clay County...more

The court decision on who owns the land remains intact - its the BLM.  And according to BLM these Color of Title patents must conform to a 1923 Supreme Court Decision on boundaries of the Red River, no matter what state title laws says.  Two previous land owners had their applications denied.

So many questions remain.  For instance, why did it take 30 years for this Color of Title remedy to surface?  Who brought this remedy forward, the BLM or a landowner?  Why was BLM holding planning meetings on this  90,000 acres if most of it could be transferred under this process?

This whole situation cries out for a legislative solution, and Congressman Thornberry promises just that:

“I am continuing to pursue legislation that I introduced with Sen. John Cornyn to protect private property rights and clear up the uncertainty that many landowners along the Red River currently face,” Thornberry said in his statement.

In the 113th Congress Thornberry introduced H.R. 4979, the Red River Private Property Protection Act, which was favorably reported out of Committee in Dec. of 2014. We are now in the 114th Congress, and of this date the legislation has not been reintroduced.