Why This Matters to the Landowners and Residents of Real, Edwards, Uvalde, Val Verde, and Bandera Counties and the Texas Hill Country

NOTE:  This will be the largest transmission line in Texas, and comparable to the largest transmission line in the United States (765KV)

We are the ranchers, homeowners, hunters, small business owners, and lifelong residents of these counties — where land is not just property, but a part of our heritage, our freedom, and the backbone of our rural way of life.

American Electric Power (AEP) and CPS Energy have recently proposed the construction of a high-voltage transmission line that could cut through large portions of our counties. This project threatens to disrupt private property, degrade wildlife habitats, reduce land values, impact tourism, and compromise the rural character we’ve worked hard to protect for generations.

In many areas, residents only recently became aware of the project — not through official notifications, but by word of mouth and social media posts. This failure in communication reflects a lack of respect for the communities that stand to be most affected.

The lack of transparency and meaningful outreach by AEP/CPS suggests either gross oversight or a willful disregard for the rights of rural Texans. Many landowners remain uninformed about the full extent of the project and its long-term consequences for their property, safety, and way of life.

We are fully aware of what this kind of infrastructure brings:

Forced easements and eminent domain, stripping families of land they’ve owned for generations.
Wildlife displacement caused by construction and maintenance corridors.
Loss of property value due to unsightly transmission towers and lingering safety concerns.
Damage to local tourism, as industrial infrastructure disrupts scenic landscapes, waterways, and recreational land.
Fragmentation of large tracts of land, making it harder for ranchers, hunters, and landowners to manage or sell their properties.
Permanent alteration of rural landscapes, imposed without the knowledge or consent of those most affected.
This petition represents a unified stand — not only against a transmission line, but against a process that sidelines rural communities and disregards landowner rights.

 
We, the undersigned, call on AEP/CPS to:
Publicly release all proposed routes and clearly identify affected properties.
Pause all permitting until open, transparent community engagement is held in each affected area.
Avoid private ranchland and respect the rights of rural landowners.
Prioritize alternative routes that follow existing infrastructure or public right-of-way corridors.
 
We’re not against progress — but true progress must honor the people, the land, and the legacy of rural Texas.

Please go to Facebook Group "Texas Landowners Council" for more information.