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Bandera County Courier is published weekly by Gail S. Joiner, 1210 Hackberry St., Bandera, TX 78003. Subscription price $26 per year in Bandera County, TX; $36 per year for other Texas counties; $40 per year out of Texas. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Bandera County Courier, P.O. Box 1704, Bandera, TX 78003. Periodicals Postage pending in Bandera, Texas.

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Water Worries in Milam and Burleson Counties By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published April 3, 2008    Blue Water Systems LP of Austin plans to transport groundwater from Milam and Burleson Counties to Travis County.      According to The Cameron Herald, the company holds groundwater leases on about 75,000 acres, or approximately 7 percent, of the total acreage within Milam and Burleson Counties. Yet Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District, which covers the two counties, has issued production and transport permits to Blue Water Systems for 21 percent of the estimated 149,000 acre-feet per year of available groundwater in the district.     The district’s groundwater users include Blue Water Systems, 31,000 acre-feet per year; Alcoa, 15,000 acre-feet per year; historic use permits besides Alcoa, 20,000 acre-feet per year; municipalities, 10,000 acre-feet per year; and 2,069 registered exempt wells, production unknown.  Currently, the district limits production to two acre-feet per year per contiguous acre, but will change its limit if specified drawdown levels are reached.     TLC believes groundwater rights per acre legislation is necessary to prevent districts such as Post Oak Savannah from granting permits greatly exceeding rights per acre owned overlying an aquifer. Blue Water Systems will not only exceed rights per acre, but will also transport the water away from the aquifer so that it will not contribute to the aquifer’s recharge.

Texas Landowners Council columns in the on-line edition of the Courier:

Water Worries in Milam and Burleson Counties	Published April 3, 2008
Goliad Heroes Day	Published March 27, 2008
TLC visits South Texas	Published March 20, 2008
Big Changes in Texas House	Published March 13, 2008
Alamo Heroes Day	Published March 6, 2008
Texas History Month	Published Feb. 28, 2008
Texas Statehood Day	Published Feb. 21, 2008
Valentine, Texas	Published Feb. 14, 2008
Remember the Alamo	Published Feb. 7, 2008
Gillespie County protests wind	Published Jan. 31, 2008
Texas Supreme Court upholds taking of private roads	Published Jan. 24, 2008
New Year Creek	Published Jan. 3, 2008
Texas Land & Water Conference	Published Dec. 13, 2007
The need for groundwater rights per acre	Published Dec. 6, 2007
Thanksgiving – a celebration of private property	Published Nov. 29, 2007
The Rule of Capture - groundwater theft	Published Oct. 11, 2007
Representative addresses Trans-Texas Corridor	Published Oct. 4, 2007
TAHC requires tagging of intrastate dairy cattle	Published Sept. 27, 2007
TLC attends DMT PHA Conference	Published Sept. 20, 2007
TLC attends South Texas Wildlife Conference	Published Sept. 13, 2007

Goliad Heroes Day By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published March 27, 2008    Thursday, March 27, Goliad Heroes Day, marks the anniversary of the Goliad Massacre in 1836. Mexican president and general Antonio L—pez de Santa Anna solicited and received the decree of December 30, 1835, requiring that all armed foreigners taken as prisoners be executed, from the Mexican Congress.     Thus, when James W. Fannin Jr. surrendered at the Battle of Coleto on March 20, 1836, asking that he and his men be treated as prisoners of war and eventually returned to the United States, Gen. José de Urrea could not agree to Fannin's terms but told him he would seek Santa Anna's approval.     Fannin and his men were taken back to Goliad and imprisoned in Nuestra Se–ora de Loreto Presidio at La Bah’a. Urrea left Col. José Nicol‡s de la Portilla in charge of Goliad and wrote Santa Anna asking for clemency for the prisoners. Santa Anna responded by ordering immediate execution of Fannin and his men.     On Palm Sunday, March 27, the unwounded prisoners were divided into three groups, marched along roads leading from the fort and killed. Fannin and the wounded prisoners were executed within the fort.     Twenty-eight prisoners escaped, and Francita Alavez, also known as the "Angel of Goliad," and Col. Francisco Garay, spared 20 prisoners.     Approximately 342 executed Texans were burned and left to the elements until Gen. Thomas J. Rusk buried them on June 3.     The Goliad Massacre was influential in building widespread support for Texas Independence from the people of Texas, the United States, Great Britain and France (Handbook of Texas Online).

TLC visits South Texas By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published March 20, 2008    On March 10, Texas Landowners Council (TLC) President Jimmy Gaines and TLC Director of Membership and Development Lauren Flake joined landowners for a lunch meeting at Strickland’s Restaurant in Falfurrias.     Gaines and Flake discussed TLC’s proposed groundwater rights per acre legislation and other legislative priorities with South Texans’ Property Rights Association (STPRA) Executive Director Susan Coates Durham, STPRA Directors Lavoyger Durham and Mauro Garcia, STPRA Marketing Director Anne Brady Thurwalker and consultant Robert Howard. In addition to groundwater rights, STPRA is also very concerned about border security and the Trans-Texas Corridor.     On March 11, David Longoria gave Gaines and Flake a tour of La Grulla, 30 miles west of McAllen on the Rio Grande. La Grulla is located within Porcion 94, originally granted to Longoria’s ancestor, Pedro Longoria, in 1767.     Juan and Yrinea Longoria settled there on March 2, 1836, calling the area “Los Mesquititos.” David Longoria took Gaines and Flake to San Roque Church, built by the couple in 1891 and restored in the 1990s; Longoria Cemetery, resting place of the couple and many additional relatives; and the banks of the Rio Grande.     For more information about La Grulla, visit http://www.raullongoria.net/grulla.htm.     Later that day, Gaines and Flake met Rio Grande Valley residents at La Mexicana Restaurant in McAllen. Participants Doug Johnson of McAllen; David Longoria of Harlingen; Gilberto A. Gracia, Dr. Lucas H. Hinojosa and Romeo O. Hinojosa of Edinburg; and Romeo Longoria of Rio Grande City expressed great concern about water rights.

Big Changes in Texas House By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published March 13, 2008    When the State Legislature reconvenes next year, the House of Representatives will be very different. Most importantly, three House committee chairmen will not return in 2009.     San Antonio Democrat Robert Puente, chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, recently announced his retirement after nine terms. Round Rock Republican Mike Krusee, Transportation Committee chairman and author of legislation authorizing the Trans-Texas Corridor, has also retired after eight terms. Fort Worth Republican Anna Mowery will be replaced by Burleson Republican Rob Orr as chairman of the Land and Resource Management Committee. During her 10 terms in the House, Mowery has been a vital proponent of property rights.     In addition, Eagle Lake Democrat Robby Cook, farmer and member of the Land and Resource Management Committee, will not return after serving six terms.

Alamo Heroes Day By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published March 6, 2008    Thursday, March 6, Alamo Heroes Day, marks the anniversary of the end of the 13-day siege on the Alamo.      On this day in 1836, Santa Anna launched his final assault on Misión San Antonio de Valero, and by 8 pm, every Alamo fighting man was dead.  The Alamo Heroes were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William Barrett Travis of South Carolina and included James Butler Bonham of South Carolina, James Bowie of Kentucky and Tennessee Congressman David Crockett.      The youngest Alamo defender was William Philip King, 15, and the oldest was Gordon C. Jennings, 56 (Handbook of Texas Online).     The 189 Alamo Heroes came from Texas, Virginia, Vermont, North Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Ohio, Connecticut, Illinois, Rhode Island, Maryland and New Jersey, as well as England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Wales and Denmark.

Texas History Month By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published Feb. 28, 2008    To celebrate special events in the fight for Texas Independence in 1836, in 2003, the Texas Legislature designated March as Texas History Month.      March 2, Texas Independence Day, marks the anniversary of the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence. March 6, Alamo Heroes Day, marks the anniversary of the end of the siege on the Alamo. March 27, Goliad Heroes Day, marks the anniversary of the largest loss of life in the fight for Texas Independence at Goliad.      Remember the sacrifices of our Texas heroes, and fly your Texas flags on our Texas Honor Days next month (Daughters of the Republic of Texas Online).

Texas Statehood Day By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published Feb. 21, 2008    This month marks the 162nd anniversary of Texas Statehood.      Alarmed by British and French support of a Mexican peace treaty with Texas prohibiting annexation, consecutive United States Presidents John Tyler and James K. Polk pushed for Texas’ admittance into the Union.  After a treaty to admit Texas as a territory failed in 1844, the US Congress passed a joint resolution in February 1845 that provided for the annexation of Texas while allowing the new state to keep its own public lands and divide itself into as many as four additional states.     On July 4th, the Texas Congress rejected Mexico’s offer of recognition, agreed to accept annexation and drafted the Constitution of 1845.  Texans elected new state officials, including Governor J. Pinckney Henderson, in a special election on Dec. 15. Polk signed an act admitting Texas into the United States on Dec. 29, when Congress approved its state constitution.      On Feb. 19, 1846, Republic of Texas President Anson Jones formally transferred authority to the 28th state, declaring, “The Republic of Texas is no more” (Handbook of Texas Online).

Valentine, Texas By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published Feb. 14, 2008    The Southern Pacific Railroad crew named Valentine, Texas, when they stopped there Feb. 14, 1882.      Valentine is 36 miles west of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County. The post office was established in 1886, and by 1890, the town had two saloons, a general store, a hotel, a meat market and a population of around 100.  The town eventually became a shipping point for local cattle ranchers.      Valentine’s population reached its peak at 629 in the early 1930s, but by 2000, the population had fallen to 187 (Handbook of Texas Online).     Every year, at the beginning of January, the Valentine Post Office begins receiving requests for Valentine postmarks. The town’s seventh through 12th graders participate in a contest to design the red impression placed on the lower left-hand corner of the envelope, and the city council sends the winning design to San Antonio for approval. Of course, the black Valentine postmark cancels the stamp.     Mailing begins Feb. 7, but on request, the postmaster will wait until Feb. 14 to mail missives – ensuring the perfect postmark (Texas Escapes Online Magazine).

Remember the Alamo By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published Feb. 7, 2008    One hundred years ago, Adina Emilia De Zavala saved the most important part of the Alamo from destruction. The granddaughter of Lorenzo de Zavala, first vice president of the Republic of Texas, Adina De Zavala was born in Harris County in 1861 and eventually became a teacher in San Antonio. Around 1889, she and other San Antonio women formed a Texas historical society.      The state acquired the Alamo chapel from the Catholic Church in 1883, but in 1886, a wholesale grocery firm bought the convent, or long barracks, where the famous 1836 battle took place. In 1892, the grocery company made a verbal agreement with De Zavala to give her group first chance to purchase the property.     In 1893, members of De Zavala’s group joined the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT). After Clara Driscoll joined the DRT in 1903, she purchased the grocery company’s property. The state purchased this property from Driscoll in 1905 and gave custody of the Alamo to the DRT.     Members of the DRT ultimately split into two groups, one led by De Zavala and the other by Driscoll, the groups vied for control of the organization and the Alamo. In 1909, state courts ruled in favor of Driscoll’s faction.      De Zavala fervently opposed Driscoll’s plans to destroy the convent, which Driscoll mistakenly believed was erected after 1836. Fortunately, De Zavala “barricaded herself inside the north barrack of the Alamo for three days in February 1908 to protest its destruction” (Handbook of Texas Online).

Gillespie County protests wind By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published Jan. 31, 2008    Last month, after NRG Energy abandoned wind farm plans there, Gillespie County Commissioners passed a resolution similar to those passed by Llano and Fredericksburg city councils against wind farm construction in their area.      According to The Fredericksburg Standard, the commissioners recognized “that potential income to participating property owners … could be beneficial to those landowners,” but claimed the resolution was “best for the total, not for the few.”     Gillespie County Judge Mark Stroeher said, “None of us are opposed to alternative energy, but we don’t feel Gillespie is a good place for a wind farm.”      State Senator Troy Fraser, who arranged a meeting between Save our Scenic Hill Country members and NRG Energy, said, “It just didn’t fit their economic development plan.”     An article in the San Antonio Express-News stated NRG is the second energy company to abandon plans for a Gillespie County wind farm in the last six months.

Texas Supreme Court upholds taking of private roads By Lauren Stucky Flake Special to the Courier Published Jan. 24, 2008    In November 2003, Culberson County Commissioners voted unanimously that several roads on Fred Hoffman’s property were public, even though the Durrill family, previous owners of the property, confirmed that the disputed roads had always been privately maintained. Hoffman was charged with obstructing public roads, and his locks and gates were removed, opening his ranch to the public.     The Van Horn Advocate reported that the commissioners “approved an agreement to pay the law firm of Allison, Bass & Associates $4,500 for the next two years to officially map and number all county roads in accordance with recently adopted HB 1117.”      In the 2003 legislative session, Jim Allison, lobbyist for the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas, pushed for passage of HB 1117, allowing counties to draw road maps and acquire indicated roads without surveying. The county commissioners’ claims to these roads may be connected to the General Land Office’s attempts to lease water rights. Earl and Sylvia Baker recently found themselves in a similar battle over roads.      In May 2006, the Texas Supreme Court denied hearing their case against Hudspeth County Judge James A. Peace based on the Texas Court of Appeals’ exception to donative intention.     According to the Eighth Court of Appeals, “As a general rule, the intention to dedicate must be shown by something more than an omission or failure to act or acquiesce on the part of the owner … There must be evidence of some additional factor that implies a donative intention … ” However, the court deferred to 1954 and 1992 cases in which “the court upheld … implied dedication based on … the testimony of landowners in the area that ‘the road was used by the public as far back as they could remember’ …”      This decision is discouraging for landowners.

New Year Creek By Lauren Stucky Special to the Courier Published Jan. 3, 2008    In early fall of 1821, the Boatwright, Kuykendall, Gilleland, Williams and Gates families – all members of Stephen F. Austin’s Old Three Hundred – traveled down Trammel’s Trace to Nacogdoches, Texas. In early December, they departed for Austin’s colony, and on New Year’s Eve 1821, the families used La Bahía Crossing on the Brazos River to enter Austin’s Spanish land grant.       The families of Thomas Boatwright and Abner Kuykendall traveled 10 miles west of the crossing and established a settlement on present-day New Year Creek on New Year’s Day, 1822. The creek begins two miles south of Gay Hill and runs southeast for 20 miles through Washington County before reaching the Brazos River on the Waller county line.      Boatwright and Kuykendall received their land grants in 1824. Boatwright’s land fronted the Brazos River in present-day Austin County. Kuykendall’s land was in present-day Fort Bend, Washington and Austin counties.       A few of Kuykendall’s contributions to Texas freedom include commanding the militia of Austin’s colony; campaigns against the Karankawa, Waco and Tawakoni Indians; patrolling the Old San Antonio Road during the Fredonian Rebellion; leading a scouting expedition; serving as a public official and supervising the building of jail in San Felipe; and assisting Anahuac citizens during the Anahuac Disturbances.      In 1834, Kuykendall was fatally stabbed at San Felipe by Joseph Clayton, whose hanging was probably the first legal execution in Texas. His son, Jonathan Hampton Kuykendall, served as aide and interpreter to General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War and represented Fayette County in the House of the Sixth Texas Congress (Handbook of Texas Online).

Texas Land & Water Conference By Lauren Stucky Special to the Courier Published Dec. 13, 2007    Texas Landowners Council will hold its first Texas Land & Water Conference on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 10:30 am to 4 pm at the Boerne Convention and Community Center, 820 East Adler Street.     This event is designed to educate landowners about the need for legislation to curb eminent domain abuse and protect groundwater rights.     Speakers have been at the forefront of state legislative activity on behalf of Texas property rights organizations for many years.     Stephen I. Adler of Barron & Adler LLP in Austin represents landowners in takings cases. He is one of the most experienced eminent domain attorneys in the state and has tried cases in front of the Texas Supreme Court.     From 1995 to 1998, he served as chair of the American Bar Association Real Property Section Condemnation Committee.     A sixth generation rancher, Tom Beard serves as president of Leoncita Cattle Company in Alpine. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Davis Mountains Trans-Pecos Heritage Association and the chairman of both the Far West Texas Water Planning Group and the Brewster County Groundwater Conservation District.     Trey J. Blocker practices eminent domain law at Jackson Walker LLP in Austin, and represents Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association at the state legislature. Blocker was an assistant to Governor George W. Bush, legislative director for several state representatives and chief of staff and general counsel for State Senator Craig Estes. He is a descendant of early Texas cattlemen and trail drivers.     Billy Howe serves as the State Legislative Director for Texas Farm Bureau in Austin. Before representing Farm Bureau, he worked as a legislative aide and chief committee clerk in the Texas House of Representatives from 1993 to 1999.     David K. Langford is a professional conservationist with expertise in water and eminent domain issues. He is the Executive Director Emeritus for Texas Wildlife Association in San Antonio. He operates Laurels Ranch in Comfort, which his family has owned since 1851. Langford serves on the South Central Texas Water Planning Group and is an award-winning nature photographer.     Register by Friday, Dec. 21, for discounted admission. Registration includes lunch catered by Hungry Horse Restaurant.     For registration form or more information, visit www.texaslandownerscouncil.com or call 512-892-1802.

The need for groundwater rights per acre By Lauren Stucky & Jimmy Gaines Special to the Courier Published Dec. 6, 2007    Texas law does not protect landowners' rights to groundwater in an equitable manner.     In fact, under current law, landowners can be deprived of the majority of water beneath their land because Texas law does not recognize groundwater rights in proportion to the amount of land owned overlying an aquifer.     One of the most dramatic examples of landowners losing their proportionate groundwater rights occurred when Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) was created. EAA gave permanent pumping rights to landowners based on their historic use without regard for the amount of land owned overlying the aquifer. This resulted in the granting of many permanent rights that greatly exceed an equal amount of water per acre. These rights are effectively the rights to take water from beneath someone else's land.     Historic use rights are fair and considered to be vested rights. A person who has invested in land, wells, irrigation and farm equipment and years of work for crop production and has used groundwater for a number of years in this enterprise has a vested right to continue. However, it can be argued that if a choice is made to cease the operation of the enterprise and sell the water, there is no longer a vested right to the historic use amount. The water is no longer being applied to the investment that was dependent upon it.     For example, according to environmental scientist Gregg Eckhardt, when Ron Pucek closed down his catfish farm in Bexar County after only a few years of operation, EAA granted him a permit for 22,500 acre-feet per year. San Antonio Water System purchased Pucek's land and the majority of his pumping rights for more than $30 million.     Pucek owned only 85 acres of the 2,412,800 acres that encompass the Edwards Aquifer but ultimately acquired 22,500 acre-feet per year of the total 450,000 acre-feet permitted by EAA. Based on the acreage he owned overlying the aquifer, he should have been entitled to 15.85 acre-feet per year. Pucek received more than 1,423 times this amount, or the pumping rights that should be allocated to 120,967.74 acres, even though his historic use changed. Therefore, various owners of 120,967.74 acres have lost their groundwater rights.     The rule of capture allows groundwater conservation districts (GCDs) like EAA to allocate water without regard for acreage owned overlying an aquifer. Pucek was simply abiding by EAA rules, which recognize historic use regardless of change of use, but his neighbors should be entitled to their share of pumping rights.     Several GCDs already issue permits on a rights per acre basis but all GCDs should be required to recognize landowners' groundwater rights in proportion to the amount of land owned overlying an aquifer. Historic use rights should return to rights per acre when uses change.     As Dr. Charles Gilliland wrote in Tierra Grande, "Some of these rules protect historic use but indicate that districts intend to cease issuing permits at a future date. Such an action would bar all landowners who do not possess permits from drilling wells that require permits. Those owners would no longer have access to water under their land unless they have exempt wells." Yet, even many exempt wells have already been depleted by others over pumping.

Thanksgiving – a celebration of private property By Lauren Stucky Special to the Courier Published Nov. 29, 2007    Every year Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with bountiful meals and the counting of blessings. But have we forgotten the blessing of private property – the blessing that saved Plymouth Colony?     Part of the colony survived disease and harsh weather to celebrate the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621 because Native Americans taught them to cultivate corn. However, its system of common property nearly destroyed Plymouth Colony.     According to Tom Bethell, author of The Noblest Triumph: Property and Prosperity Through the Ages, the colony’s investors had insisted on this arrangement to insure that the colonists would work to benefit the whole colony instead of improving their own homes and gardens.     This system of common property resulted in a general unwillingness to work among the Pilgrims. Governor William Bradford’s diary reveals the effects of such a system on the colony - “For this community was found to breed much confusion and discontent … For the young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children without any recompense.”     Bethell writes that, by the spring of 1623, the food supply was dwindling and the Pilgrims were desperate for change. Governor Bradford recorded the colony’s shift from common to private property - ”So they began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop than they had done … that they should set corn every man for his own particular, and in that regard trust to themselves … And so assigned to every family a parcel of land. … this had very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any [other] means…”     Bethell reports that Plymouth Colony continued to prosper as privatization of property was extended to housing, cattle and so on.     All Americans should be thankful for the blessing of private property – the cornerstone of our freedom and prosperity.

The Rule of Capture - groundwater theft By Lauren Stucky Special to the Courier Published Oct. 11, 2007    The Texas Supreme Court ruled in the 1904 East Case that there is no liability for withdrawing groundwater to the extent that others' wells are depleted.     This is still the law in Texas, but in the most recent ruling, Sipriano v. Great Spring Waters 1999, the Texas Supreme Court stated, "We see no reason for the Legislature to feel constrained from taking appropriate steps to protect groundwater."     Justice Hecht stated, "for now - but I think only for now - East should not be overruled."     This is interpreted to mean that the Court will modify the rule of capture if the Legislature does not.     Likewise, after pumping caused Comanche Springs to stop flowing, Pecos County WCID No. 1 v. Williams 1954, the El Paso Court of Appeals noted,"It may be that the answer to this unhappy situation is legislative."     Groundwater conservation districts in Texas are empowered to limit pumping, but they also have the authority to allocate the water under one person's land to someone else in large amounts. This occurs every time a district issues a permit to withdraw water in excess of an equal amount of water per acre of land owned overlying an aquifer.     The problem was recognized by Dr. Gilliland of Texas A&M University in his April 2006 Tierra Grande article.     "Some of these rules protect historic use but indicate that districts intend to cease issuing permits at a future date.     Such an action would bar all landowners who do not possess permits from drilling wells that require permits. Those owners would no longer have access to water under their land unless they have exempt wells." There are currently many exempt wells that have been depleted by others over pumping.     According to Larry McKinney in his July 2005 Texas Parks & Wildlife article, "As long as we manage groundwater under the Rule of Capture doctrine, the fate of many springs is governed by the biggest straw. That doctrine was based on a 1904 Texas Supreme Court decision in which the court found that the movement of groundwater is 'so secret, occult, and concealed that any attempt to administer any set of legal rules ­ [would] be practically impossible'."     In the East, Sipriano, and Williams cases, there were no mysteries concerning the impact of over-pumping on groundwater, and groundwater was, in fact, taken from landowners. Most importantly, these cases define groundwater as private property, while the Constitution prohibits the taking of private property.     In East, the court was concerned about possibly impeding economic development. As in the 2005 Kelo Case concerning eminent domain, economic development was considered justification for violation of the Constitution. Texas desperately needs legislation modifying the rule of capture. Without a drastic change in water law, landowners will continue to lose the water under their land.

Representative addresses Trans-Texas Corridor By Lauren Stucky Special to the Courier Published Oct. 4, 2007    Texas Landowners Council President Jimmy Gaines and Director of Membership and Development Lauren Stucky recently attended a Capital City A&M Club Reveille Breakfast in Austin.     The event guest speaker was Representative Dan Gattis, Texas A&M Class of 1990. A representative of Milam and a portion of Williamson counties, Gattis serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee. TLC representatives found his comments on the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) to be particularly well focused.     Gattis felt that Texas definitely needs additional roads ­ including toll roads. However, he voiced specific concerns about Governor Rick Perry's TTC project. First, Gattis felt the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) proposal should have included an option to expand Interstate 35 as a toll way in feasible and appropriate areas.     Instead, TxDOT administrators claimed expansion would be too expensive.     Gattis also remains opposed to any private company ­ foreign or domestic ­ owning the right to run Texas toll roads for a profit. He said on state-owned toll roads, the state is not trying to earn a profit.     Tolls are set low enough to allow people to use the road, but high enough so people can afford to pay for using it.     In addition, Gattis failed to understand the logic behind Cintra operating this project rather than the state, when Cintra would actually use the state bonding authority. According to Gattis, profits from the TTC will go to shareholders instead of back to the state to build more roads. He felt the TTC was a rural vs. urban issue because rural land is cheaper while the state's traffic problem is urban.

TAHC requires tagging of intrastate dairy cattle By Lauren Stucky Special to the Courier Published Sept. 27, 2007    The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), supported by the Texas Association of Dairymen, recently adopted proposed regulation 4 TAC section 43(n) requiring "official identification device or identification device approved by the Commission" on all dairy cattle moving within the state.     This new regulation is aimed at reducing the risk of tuberculosis exposure, even though the TAHC has stated that this risk comes from out of state cattle.     This unnecessary regulation is a step towards implementation of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in Texas. The Texas Legislature passed HB 1361 in 2005, giving the TAHC unconstitutional power to implement NAIS in Texas. Under NAIS, requirements for livestock owners include premises registration, animal identification tags and reporting of all births within 24 hours ­ with a fine of up to $1,000 per day for noncompliance.     HB 461 by Sid Miller, which would have kept NAIS voluntary and removed criminal penalties for noncompliance in Texas, failed to pass the Texas Senate in 2007.     Although NAIS is currently voluntary at the federal level, individual states are beginning to institute enforcement of the program. According to the USDA website, Premises Registration is the first step in implementing the system.     Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) is an authorized agent for Premises Registration for the TAHC. Last year, TSCRA sent its members Premises Registration forms and brochures stating that "pending final ruling," registration would be mandatory July 1, 2006.     This deadline was put on hold after opponents of NAIS protested. For more information, contact the following websites: http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/index.shtml http://farmandranchfreedom.org www.nonais.org

TLC attends DMT PHA Conference By Lauren Stucky Special to the Courier Published Sept. 20, 2007    Texas Landowners Council President Jimmy Gaines and Director of Membership and Development Lauren Stucky attended the Davis Mountains Trans-Pecos Heritage Association's (DMTPHA) 17th annual meeting and conference Saturday, Sept. 8, at Sul Ross State University in Alpine.     Speakers included Holly Swanson, author of Set Up & Sold Out: Find Out What Green Really Means and founder of Operation Green Out; Jon Means, president of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA); Cathie Adams, president of the Texas Eagle Forum; and Mike Bodenchuk, state director of USDA Texas Wildlife Services.     Gaines gave a brief presentation about TLC and the need for groundwater rights per acre legislation.     Swanson explained the Green Party's use of environmentalism as a decoy to slip their political agenda into America's schools. The Earth Charter, 16 principles written by Mikhail Gorbachev and others, is endorsed by the Texas PTA, the Texas Association for Environmental Education, the Earth Day Network and numerous city councils nationwide.     Principles outlined in the Earth Charter include "Demilitarize national security systems..." and "Promote the equitable distribution of wealth within nations and among nations." The Earth Charter also states: "Take action to avoid the possibility of serious or irreversible environmental harm even when scientific knowledge is incomplete or inconclusive... Place the burden of proof on those who argue that a proposed activity will not cause significant harm..."     Swanson encouraged meeting participants to contact their local school boards immediately to protest the incorporation of the Earth Charter into school curriculum. Means discussed the radical animal rights movement. He felt this movement goes well beyond a concern for animal welfare and opposes the use or enjoyment of animals by humans for any reason. Means has visited Scotland, where the animal rights movement has been very successful - it is now illegal in Scotland to dock the tails of sheep except within 24 hours of birth.     Means pointed out that the average American is already three generations removed from the farm. He discussed hypocrisy and corruption in groups like PETA and the Humane Society of the US. The Animal Agriculture Alliance, made up of many diverse agriculture producer groups, is working to combat the animal rights movement.     Adams pointed out fallacies in the popular global warming argument. She has attended many UN meetings, including the Kyoto meeting in December 1997. Adams claimed the Kyoto Protocol, which will expire in 2012, was more about economy than environment.     She also asserted that global warming has only been proven by computer models while the causes of climate change - wind, ocean currents and sun cycles - cannot be factored into computer models. According to Adams, scientists at NASA found that the average global temperature actually declined by 0.09 degrees centigrade from 2005 to 2006. She also asserted that Al Gore's "vast majority of the world's scientists" in An Inconvenient Truth are not climatologists, and have been contradicted by the over 17,000 scientists who signed the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine's Global Warming Petition.     Bodenchuk discussed predation management, an important aspect of land stewardship. He explained that habitat improvement is an ongoing process, while predation management occurs within the limits of the current habitat. According to Bodenchuk, intensive predator management can result in removing prey from the endangered species list, therefore alleviating land use regulations.     DMTPHA and TLC share reciprocal memberships and similar goals. TLC appreciates the tremendous educational opportunity DMTPHA provided landowners with the excellent presenters at this conference.

TLC attends South Texas Wildlife Conference By Lauren Stucky Special to the Courier Published Sept. 13, 2007    Texas Landowners Council President Jimmy Gaines and TLC Director of Membership and Development Lauren Stucky attended the 11th South Texas Wildlife Conference August 29 in Cotulla.     This event was sponsored by Texas Wildlife Association (TWA), Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, and Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Additional contributors included TLC Members AC Jones, IV, and Helen Groves.     TWA Executive Director Kirby Brown and Executive Director Emeritus David K. Langford, State Representatives Harvey Hilderbran and Tracy King, Texas A&M Real Estate Center Attorney Judon Fambrough, Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission Past Chairman Joseph Fitzsimmons and Attorney Ed Vaughn discussed numerous property rights issues.     The speakers expressed concern over the growing struggle between urban and rural issues at the Texas Legislature. Brown noted that there are more representatives from within the city limits of Houston than from all areas of the state west of Interstate 35.     Hilderbran, chairman of the House Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee and a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, explained that promoting land stewardship is essential to maintaining rural Texas tourism.     Fitzsimmons described the benefits of managed lands deer permits and the wildlife management plans that now cover almost 20,000,000 acres of the state. He would like to expand the program to include additional species.     Langford mentioned groundwater conservation as an important benefit of land stewardship. He stated that every eight acres of cedar cleared in the Edwards Plateau adds one acre foot of water into the Edwards Aquifer.     Fambrough discussed another property rights issue of vital importance to rural Texas. After researching the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) legislation, he discovered that the TTC has the same powers and “duties” as given other toll projects under Subchapter D, Chapter 203. This means that the TTC may condemn an easement instead of the fee simple, absolute title to land; may allow landowners to retain development rights; and cannot condemn mineral rights. Fambrough recommends that landowners who deed to the TTC in lieu of condemnation reserve their mineral, groundwater, wind, uranium and development rights.     He also stated that all land prices are falling within the preferred corridor route. According to Fambrough, on February 14, 2005, the Austin-American Statesman reported that 44 percent of landowners rejected the state’s initial offer for their land in the path of Texas 130.     Landowners who protested their offers before a special commissioners hearing were awarded, on average, 71 percent more than landowners who accepted the state’s first offer. However, the state appealed many of these awards to the next level.     TLC appreciates TWA’s informative conference.