Press Releases

 On Monday, Rep. Mike Johnson (LA-04) introduced legislation to stop government encroachment and return land claimed by the federal government back to its rightful, private land owners in Louisiana. Johnson’s legislation voids a 1967 survey being used by the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to claim the land surrounding Lake Bistineau in Bossier Parish. The bill will restore the original 1842 survey of the affected areas and nullify the legal effect of any future attempts to confiscate the land.

Currently, over 220 acres of land in Bossier Parish along the west bank of Lake Bistineau are being claimed by the government agency. The land is home to numerous private land and home owners, and Johnson’s bill would provide legal certainty to these citizens who have demonstrated ownership. 

Rep. Johnson released the following statement:

“While our government seems to know no bounds, federal claims to the property around Lake Bistineau are absurd. I grew up in this area and have watched my neighbors build their lives and their families on this land. It belongs to no one but the people that inhabit it. Thankfully, my legislation will assert private ownership of the land and give families assurance that their homes will not be subject to the whims of Washington bureaucrats.”