Utah Counties File Lawsuits Against BLM over RS2477 Roads

[LYIN' KING]

SALT LAKE CITY — By this time next week, 22 of Utah's 29 counties will have filed lawsuits against the Interior Department and the Bureau of Land Management, seeking title to thousands of miles of contested roads that cross federally managed lands.

Beaver, Box Elder, Carbon, Duchesne, Emery, Piute, Rich, Sanpete, Utah and Wayne counties had all filed individual lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City as of Friday night.

The state of Utah is listed as a plaintiff in each of the suits as well, and expects to join the remaining 12 county lawsuits that should be filed Monday and Tuesday, according to Utah's chief deputy attorney general John Swallow.

"We're trying to protect the roads that Utahns have used for decades," Swallow said. "If we don't file these lawsuits, we can't even protect the roads, and so the federal government can actually close down the roads and obliterate our rights to use those roads."

The state said in December that it would seek quiet title to 19,000 segments of so-called RS2477 roads in 22 counties.

The RS2477 issue — under contention in the courts for more than a decade — epitomizes the public lands fight involving environmentalists, counties, industry, ranchers and shared-access advocates.

The dispute involves rights-of-way access granted by the federal government in 1866 for the development of transportation systems. Although the congressional act establishing those rights was later withdrawn in 1976 with a new federal land planning act, the access rights of local government were supposed to stay intact.

Duchesne County Commissioner Kent Peatross said he's always believed "we don't need a road down every canyon and ridge."

"But we need access that allows the general population to experience the public lands in a reasonable manner," he said. "Not everyone can walk, not everyone has a horse, and so a vehicle is the easiest and most common way to do that."

Environmental groups like the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the Sierra Club, however, have blasted the state and the counties over their claims, arguing that many of the roads being identified in the title fight aren't even roads.

On April 24, the groups unveiled a map — based on their research of all the pending and imminent RS2477 litigation in Utah — that they claim shows the state and counties are actually seeking more than 25,000 segments that add up to 45,000 miles.

Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8...477-roads.html

[atvobsession]

sweet.

[Reid Racing]

We sure hope that Utah wins. This would be a huge win for ALL Americans who enjoy the outdoors.

[LYIN' KING]

Originally Posted by Reid Racing

We sure hope that Utah wins. This would be a huge win for ALL Americans who enjoy the outdoors.

Certainly would set precedent nationally but whether they’d make us fight it out State-by-State or even road-by-road is another matter.

[Cameraman]

Originally Posted by LYIN' KING

Certainly would set precedent nationally but whether they’d make us fight it out State-by-State or even road-by-road is another matter.

I believe they would battle it out state by state, or county by county.

[LYIN' KING]

Originally Posted by Cameraman

I believe they would battle it out state by state, or county by county.

That leaves just leaves Road-by-Road (RbR), if one looks at the opposition position statements and the recent history of R-b-R battles in UT, I'd guess R-b-R.

As of a couple years ago San Juan County in UT had $1,000,000.00 million dollars+ invested in regaining access to ONE freakin' road!!!
http://fourcornersfreepress.com/news/2011/081102.htm

It has been estimated that there are thousands of R.S. 2477 claims on federal public lands across Utah (by some counts, this could be 15,000 to 20,000 claims!).

IMHO States such as CA would never under take an approach that costly.