Donate Today to Save the Cutoff
Goal: $150,000.00
In early 2022, a private landowner illegally blocked access to a popular public hunting and fishing destination in East Texas known locally as “The Cutoff.” A group of local sportsmen who hunt and fish there have challenged the move in court, and Texas BHA is rallying behind them.
Texans have been fishing and hunting the Cutoff for over 100 years.
There is abundant evidence that public users have an undeniable right to access and recreate here:
- Creslenn lake clearly fits the definition of a navigable water by every measure of Texas law and statute, and Texans clearly retain the rights to access and use navigable waters for fishing
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has long maintained and regulated Creslenn Lake as a public water subject to public fishery and even stocked the lake with Florida Largemouth Bass in 1976 and again in 1998
- FM 1667 is a public right of way as designated by the State Highway Department of Texas (predecessor of the TX Department of Transportation)
- TXDOT has issued the landowner 3 letters to have him remove the fencing that is impeding access to the waterbody from their easement
- The US Army Corps of Engineers issued a cease-and-desist notice to the private landowner after he violated the County’s floodplain ordinance
Still no action has been taken to restore public access to the Cutoff.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, no government entities have restored access yet, so local sportsmen formed a non-profit called "Save the Cutoff," and were forced to hire an attorney to pursue multiple lawsuits seeking resolution on behalf of the public. Texas BHA has supported their lawsuits by filing an amicus brief and contributing a $1,000 donation of Chapter funds towards attorney’s fees.
In the event that Plaintiffs (Save the Cutoff) legal fees are demanded by the court to be paid by the Defendant, donations will remain with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers to support public access and habitat improvement.
