United States Revised Statute 2477, enacted in 1866, provided that “the right of way for the construction of highways across public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted.” RS 2477 thus provided rights-of-way for state and local governments to construct highways across federal lands for pioneers, ranchers and miners to travel across public lands in order to reach their properties or search for minerals.
Congress repealed RS 2477 when it passed the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) in 1976, with the caveat that all existing highways that had been maintained by a state or county would be grandfathered in. Thus the door was opened for counties and states to claim existence and ownership of a “highway” that in most cases is nothing more than a faint Jeep or cattle trail.
In its ongoing quest to take over and develop public lands, regardless of their natural beauty or archeological value, the state of Utah filed claims in December 2011 on 18,784 “roads” located in 22 counties across the state (see attached map). A thinly veiled backdoor attack on Utah public lands and wilderness, Utah is attempting to gain the authority needed to allow developers, the fossil fuel extraction industry and Jeep/ATV owners to run rampant across virtually all public lands, in Utah—to include existing wilderness and wilderness study areas. As many of these so-called “roads” are nothing more than cattle trails, stream beds, and self-created Jeep/ATV routes, the consequences of the state being allowed to take over these lands would be devastating, particularly in the face of climate change. In fact, of the 18,784 roads or road segments claimed by the state, 16,594 are “Class D,” a legal designation meaning they were never officially constructed or maintained.
To counter this effort and effectively eliminate future attempts, the Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club with support of the Club’s Resilient Habitats Campaign and Environmental Law Program, is collaborating with four additional environmental organizations to intervene on behalf of several federal lands agencies. Partner organizations include: the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the Wilderness Society, the Grand Canyon Trust and the National Parks Conservation Association.
The Sierra Club and its allies will attempt to intervene strategically in cases where the lands involved are of the greatest conservation importance. This effort will represent the most significant environmental action undertaken by the Chapter during 2013.