Ted Cruz introduced legislation this week to stop federal agencies from acquiring land in West Texas. The bill’s target: a 2024 Fish and Wildlife Service plan that would have allowed Washington to control up to 700,000 acres across Texas and New Mexico.
The plan was withdrawn in 2025. Cruz’s bill would make sure it stays dead.
What the Bill Does
The “No Federal Expansion Designation in West Texas Act” prohibits federal land acquisition or conservation plans tied to the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge expansion. Rep. Jodey Arrington (R) introduced companion legislation in the House, where it cleared the House Natural Resources Committee.
“West Texas is vital to economic growth and energy for Texans, and decisions about its land should belong to Texans, not Washington bureaucrats,” Cruz said.
The 2024 Land Protection Plan would have let the Fish and Wildlife Service buy or place conservation easements on 700,000 acres in the region. Federal agencies withdrew the plan in 2025 after Texas legislators and landowners pushed back. Cruz’s bill codifies that withdrawal into law.
Texas Farm Bureau and American Stewards of Liberty support the measure. Texas Farm Bureau President Russel Boening said farmers and ranchers are “the best stewards of their land, not the federal government.”
Why Federal Land Control Matters
Federal land ownership concentrates power in Washington. When the U.S. government owns or controls land, decisions about its use get made by bureaucrats who don’t live there.
West Texas runs on ranching, oil, and agriculture. Conservation easements can restrict how land is used. Federal ownership removes land from state tax rolls. Both shift control away from the people who actually work the ground.
The Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2024 plan wasn’t the first federal attempt to expand its Texas footprint. It won’t be the last. Every administration brings new environmental priorities. Every new priority comes with regulatory enforcement.
When Texian Partisan covered the federal courts blocking Abbott’s terror designation orders in November 2025, the piece noted that “the federal system” subordinates “state authority to Washington bureaucrats.” Land control is the same pattern. Federal preemption means Texas officials can propose, but Washington disposes.
Cruz’s bill is defensive. It blocks one specific plan from being revived. It doesn’t prevent future plans on different parcels. It doesn’t address the underlying question: why does the federal government get to decide what happens on Texas land?
What This Tells You About Sovereignty
Real sovereignty means control over territory. If Washington can acquire 700,000 acres in West Texas over state objections, Texas doesn’t control its own territory.
Cruz is right that decisions about West Texas land should belong to Texans. But as long as federal authority overrides state authority, those decisions still flow through D.C. A bill that blocks one land grab doesn’t change the structure that makes land grabs possible.
The 10th Amendment reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the states. Land management inside state borders isn’t a delegated power. But federal courts have consistently upheld federal land acquisition authority under the Property Clause.
So Texas legislators file bills to stop specific federal actions. The bills sometimes pass. The federal government sometimes backs down. Then a new administration proposes a new plan, and the cycle repeats.
That’s not sovereignty. That’s asking permission.
When Texian Partisan analyzed federal grants in January 2026, the piece observed that Texans “possess the natural right to govern themselves without sending 85 percent of their federal tax money to Washington.” Land control is the territorial version of the same principle. Texans should control Texas land without needing federal approval to block federal plans.
Cruz’s bill is useful. It protects West Texas landowners from a known threat. But it’s a defensive measure in a system where Texas needs federal permission to say no.
— Source: Ted Cruz Introduces ‘No FED in West Texas Act’ to Block Federal Land Expansion
Related TP coverage: – Federal Courts Block Abbott’s Terror Designations (Nov 26, 2025) – Federal Grants Myth Masks Texas’s $68 Billion Annual Drain (Jan 22, 2026) – Congress Declares the Border Was Invaded, Then Moves to Legalize the Invaders (Apr 8, 2026)
