DECREE
For the purpose of giving effect to the opinion of this Court
announced on June 14, 1976,
426 U. S. 426 U.S.
465:
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED As FOLLOWS:
1. That the extension of the boundary southerly from the point
where the line forming the boundary between Texas and Louisiana
southerly from the Arkansas boundary, intersects the geographical
middle of the Sabine River (Latitude 31�59' 56.225" North,
Longitude 94�02'33.105" West, said point being taken from the
United States Geological Survey Quadrangle Center, Tex.-La. 1958
Edition) to the mid-point between the gulfward extension of the
Sabine Pass jetties Latitude 29�38'37.329" North, Longitude
93�49'30.940" West hereby is established.
Said boundary commences at Latitude 31�59'56.225" North and
Longitude 94�02'33.105" West, thence proceeding in a southerly
direction along the Sabine River using the federal line as shown
for the boundary on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle
Center, Tex.-La., 1958 Edition (photorevised 1969) and signed by
Hatley N. Harrison, Jr., for Louisiana on February 20, 1974, and by
H. H. Forbes, Jr., for Texas on February 20, 1974, which is in
evidence in this case as Texas Exhibit AAA-1.
Thence, on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle
Logansport, La.-Tex. Edition of 1956 (photorevised 1969) and signed
by Hatley N. Harrison, Jr., for Louisiana on February 20, 1974, and
Herman H. Forbes, Jr. for Texas on February 20, 1974, which is in
evidence in this case as Texas Exhibit AAA-2, using the federal
line as shown along the
Page 431 U. S. 162
Sabine River as the boundary except for the alignments shown in
red. These red alignments denote where the boundary follows old
oxbows that formerly were the Sabine River and are located in the
vicinity of:
LATITUDE NORTH LONGITUDE WEST
31�54'36" 93�55'51"
31�53'45" 93�55'54"
31�53'34" 93�54'02"
31�50'20" 93�52'38"
31�49'22" 93�52'09"
31�47'27" 93�50'05"
31�47'04" 93�50'05"
31�46'16" 93�49'30"
Thence, on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle
Patroon, Tex.-La., Edition of 1956 (photorevised 1969) and signed
by Hatley N. Harrison, Jr., for Louisiana on February 20, 1974, and
by Herman H. Forbes, Jr. for Texas on February 20, 1974, which is
in evidence in this case as Texas Exhibit AAA-3, using the federal
line as shown along the Sabine River as the boundary except for the
former alignments shown in red. These are located in the vicinity
of:
LATITUDE NORTH LONGITUDE WEST
31�42'06" 93�48'50"
31�41'12" 93�48'37"
31�36'52" 93�49'33"
31�31'44" 93�45'19"
Thence, on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle
Zwolle, La.-Tex., Edition of 1957 (photorevised 1969) and signed by
Hatley N. Harrison, Jr., for Louisiana on February 20, 1974, and by
Herman H. Forbes, Jr., for Texas on February 20, 1974, which is in
evidence in this case as Texas Exhibit AAA-4, using the federal
line as shown along the Sabine River as the boundary except for the
former lignment shown in red. It is located in the vicinity of
Latitude 31�31'50" North and Longitude 93�45'00" West.
Thence, on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle
Page 431 U. S. 163
Negreet, La.-Tex., Edition of 1954 (photorevised 1969) and
signed by Hatley N. Harrison, Jr. for Louisiana, on February 20,
1974, and by Herman H. Forbes, Jr. for Texas on February 20, 1974,
which is in evidence in this case as Texas Exhibit AAA-5, using the
federal line as shown along the Sabine River as the boundary.
Thence, on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle
Weirgate, Tex.-La., Edition of 1954 (photorevised 1969) and signed
by Hatley N. Harrison, Jr. for Louisiana on March 29, 1974, and by
Herman H. Forbes, Jr. for Texas on April 5, 1974, which is in
evidence in this case as Texas Exhibit AAA-6, using the federal
line as shown along the Sabine River as the boundary except for the
former alignments shown in red. These are located in the vicinity
of:
LATITUDE NORTH LONGITUDE WEST
31�11'12" 93�33'10"
31�04'16" 93�32'03"
31�00'14" 93�34'10"
Thence, on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle
Merryville, Tex.-La., Edition of 1959 signed by Hatley N. Harrison,
Jr. for Louisiana on February 20, 1974, and by Herman H. Forbes,
Jr. for Texas, on February 20, 1974, which is in evidence in this
case as Texas Exhibit AAA-7, using the federal line as shown along
the Sabine River as the boundary except for the former alignments
shown in red. These are located in the vicinity of:
LATITUDE NORTH LONGITUDE WEST
30�50'39" 93�33'37"
30�45'18" 93�36'23"
Thence, on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle Bon
Weir, La.-Tex., Edition of 1959 signed by Hatley N. Harrison, Jr.
for Louisiana on February 20, 1974, and by Herman H. Forbes, Jr.
for Texas, on February 20, 1974, which is in evidence in this case
as Texas Exhibit AAA-8, using the federal line as shown along the
Sabine River as the boundary
Page 431 U. S. 164
except for the former alignments shown in red. These are located
in the vicinity of:
LATITUDE NORTH LONGITUDE WEST
30�43'27" 93�36'47"
30�38'14" 93�40'40"
30�34'49" 93�42'42"
30�34'40" 93�43'13"
30�30'38" 93�42'28"
Thence, on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle
Starks, La.-Tex. Edition of 1959 (photorevised 1967) and the United
States Geological Survey Quadrangle Bessmay, Tex.La., Edition of
1955, each signed by Hatley N. Harrison, Jr., for Louisiana on
February 20, 1974, and by Herman H. Forbes, Jr., for Texas on
February 20, 1974, which are in evidence in this case as Texas
Exhibits AAA-9 and AAA-10, using the federal line as shown along
the Sabine River as the boundary except for the former alignments
shown in red. These are located in the vicinity of:
LATITUDE NORTH LONGITUDE WEST
30�23'40" 93�44'36"
30�19'17" 93�45'21"
30�18'40" 93�44'37"
30�16'58" 93�42'12"
30�15'25" 93�42'08"
Thence, on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle
Orange, La.-Tex., Edition of 1960 signed by Hatley N. Harrison,
Jr., for Louisiana, on March 29, 1974, and by Herman H. Forbes,
Jr., for Texas, on May 20, 1974, which is in evidence in this case
as Texas Exhibit AAA-11, using the federal line as shown along the
Sabine River as the boundary except for the former alignments shown
in red. These are located in the vicinity of:
LATITUDE NORTH LONGITUDE WEST
30�12'11" 93�42'46"
30�11'38" 93�42'33"
30�06'04" 93�42'37"
30�05'09" 93�43'49"
Page 431 U. S. 165
Thence, on the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle,
Orangefield, Tex.-La., Edition of 1957 signed by Hatley N.
Harrison, Jr., for Louisiana, on February 20, 1974, and by Herman
H. Forbes, Jr., for Texas, on February 20, 1974, which is in
evidence in this case as Texas Exhibit AAA-12, using the federal
line shown along the Sabine River as the boundary to a point on the
geographic middle of the Sabine River whose position is Latitude
30�00'00.000" North and Longitude 93�46'07.952" West.
And thence, as shown on Exhibit 13, which is in evidence herein,
the boundary from the point last mentioned through Middle Pass at
the mouth of the Sabine River and through Sabine Lake and Pass to
the seaward end of the jetties is defined by straight lines between
points in either Louisiana (Lambert) Coordinate System, South Zone,
or Texas (Lambert) Coordinate System, South Central Zone, whose
geographic positions are as follows:
bwm:
Latitude North Longitude West
Location
COMMENCE AT 30�00'00.000" 93�46'07.952" River
THROUGH 29�59'51.826" 93�46'09.068" Head of Pass
THROUGH 29�59'47.316" 93�46'13.110" River
THROUGH 29�59'43.790" 93�46'18.996" River
THROUGH 29�59'42.357" 93�46'24.193" River
THROUGH 29�59'41.976" 93�46'31.407" River
THROUGH 29�59'41.857" 93�46'36.751" River
THROUGH 29�59'41.098" 93�46'41.339" River
THROUGH 29�59'36.127" 93�46'53.104" River
THROUGH 29�59'34.754" 93�46'57.677" Head of Pass
THROUGH 29�59'13.842" 93�47'27.465" Middle Pass
THROUGH 29�59'00.673" 93�47'36.676" Middle Pass
THROUGH 29�58'50.683" 93�47'43.561" Middle Pass
THROUGH 29�58'43.739" 93�47'48.469" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�58'37.530" 93�47'54.478" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�58'30.922" 93�48'09.976" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�58'03.916" 93�48'20.679" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�56'49.422" 93�48'31.283" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�56'23.803" 93�48'37.697" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�56'19.089" 93�48'43.491" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�56'11.739" 93�48'47.345" Upper Sabine Lake
Page 431 U. S. 166
THROUGH 29�55'57.322" 93�48'50.454" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�55'03.827" 93�49'04.810" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�54'36.973" 93�49'16.302" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�54'04.585" 93�49'37.656" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�53'32.579" 93�50'03.845" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�52'56.560" 93�50'21.747" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�52'39.770" 93�50'35.039" Upper Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�52'25.145" 93�51'09.699" Middle of Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�51'50.473" 93�52'07.103" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�51'32.542" 93�52'28.004" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�51'15.878" 93�52'57.568" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�51'05.200" 93�53'19.673" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�50'54.303" 93�53'35.182" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�50'18.169" 93�54'20.311" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�49'49.772" 93�54'49.448" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�49'44.849" 93�54'58.065" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�49'37.618" 93�55'05.771" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�49'20.303" 93�55'20.142" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�48'42.959" 93�55'35.809" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�48'18.451" 93�55'40.759" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�47'36.545" 93�55'39.194" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�47'15.758" 93�55'30.254" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�47'05.436" 93�55'18.919" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�46'58.740" 93�55'01.889" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�46'48.210" 93�54'46.996" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�46'36.049" 93�54'25.832" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�46'28.073" 93�54'13.425" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�46'18.585" 93�53'57291" Lower Sabine Lake
THROUGH 29�46'06.942" 93�53'45.018" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�45'54.345" 93�53'30.849" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�45'49.978" 93�53'28.808" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�45'38.577" 93�53'26.928" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�45'18.638" 93�53'33.851" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�45'05.648" 93�53'32.213" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�44'54.133" 93�53'31.124" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�44'43.478" 93�53'28.071" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�44'35.209" 93�53'18.953" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�44'31.543" 93�53'11.427" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�44'27.961" 93�53'02.088" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�44'22.581" 93�52'40.847" Sabine Pass
Page 431 U. S. 167
THROUGH 29�44'11.018" 93�52'03.826" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�44'04.304" 93�51'54.092" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�43'54.534" 93�51'48.229" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�43'37.354" 93�51'40.499" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�43'32.000" 93�51'35.690" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�43'16.198" 93�51'23.209" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�43'07.451" 93�51'24.917" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�42'58.535" 93�51'25.146" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�42'52.596" 93�51'22.444" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�42'37.071" 93�51'08.441" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�42'25.303" 93�51'02.416" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�42'17.991" 93�50'56.448" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�42'11.305" 93�50'52.934" Sabine Pass
THROUGH 29�41'57.311" 93�50'47.841" Head of Jetties
THROUGH 29�41'15.323" 93�50'11.722" Jetties
TO 29�38'37.329" 93�49'30.940" End of Jetties
ewm:
2. That the offshore lateral boundary between the States of
Texas and Louisiana seaward from the point Latitude 29�38' 37.329"
North, Longitude 93�49' 30.940" West (end of jetties) is a line
running South-Southeasterly from said point on a constant bearing
of South 13�44' 45.8" east true to the seaward limit of Louisiana's
Submerged Lands Act grant. Texas' historic boundary then continues
offshore on the same bearing to the point Latitude 29�32' 06.784"
North, Longitude 93�47' 41.699" West. This offshore lateral
boundary and the Texas historical boundary are shown upon Exhibit
14 which is in evidence in this case.
3. That the United States holds no title to or interest in any
island in the west half of the Sabine River by virtue of that
island's continuous existence since 1848, when the western half of
that River was part of the territory of the United States, but not
part of Texas. Louisiana does not hold title to or interest in any
island in the west half of the Sabine River. The United States and
Texas do not hold title to or interest in any island in the east
half of the Sabine River.
4. That Exhibits 1-14, in evidence herein and above mentioned,
be certified by the Special Master as delineating the
Page 431 U. S. 168
boundary between the State of Texas and the State of Louisiana,
from Latitude 32� North, as defined herein, to the seaward limits
of Louisiana's Submerged Land Act grant, and the seaward limits of
Texas' historical boundary, as defined herein, and that the State
of Louisiana be directed to deposit a copy of these maps, so
certified by the Special Master, along with a certified copy of
this decree, with the Register of the State Land Office for the
State of Louisiana, and that the State of Texas be directed to
deposit a set of these maps, so certified by the Special Master,
along with a certified copy of this decree, with the Commissioner
of the General Land Office of the State of Texas.
5. That the costs be taxed to the parties in accordance with
their contribution to the fund established by the Special Master,
and that no costs be taxed for the services of the Special
Master.
6. That any unexpended funds contributed by the parties to the
Special Master for necessary expenses be returned to the
parties.
7. That, upon such return of funds, the Honorable Robert Van
Pelt, the Special Master appointed in this cause, will have
completed his duties, and is thereupon discharged.