Imaginary Highways Defeated!

Revised Statute 2477 has been a convoluted, dangerous and entertaining part of Western public lands debates for many years. Some state and county governments use this obscure part of the 1866 Mining Law to prevent the protection of public lands, claiming that RS 2477 grants highway rights-of-way over most of the West’s backcountry. 

Last week, a federal judge further illuminated a portion of the various arguments around RS 2477. The case went like this: A national monument in Utah decided to protect large areas within its boundaries from off-road vehicle (ORV) use. The area's county commission, supported by the state, ripped out the signs closing rough ORV routes to vehicle use. They then put up their own signs, claiming that these decaying tracks were county highways, open to all use. 

 

Conservation groups filed a suit under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, and the judge agreed. The decision ordered the county government to take their signs down, reaffirming that federal laws supersede state laws when it comes to federal lands. As my old Constitutional Law professor would say: “duh.” The judge also pointed out that the counties actually had to prove their ownership of these phantom highways, rather than simply planting a sign and making a declaration.

 

Since Utah county governments have a long history of breaking federal laws, it remains to be seen whether the county will comply with the decision. 

 

 

This is another victory in the long battle, and we should take this opportunity to celebrate. Let us now party like rock stars. 

 

Thanks to the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Wilderness Society and Earthjustice for their work on the case!

 

 

SUWA/TWS/EJ press release on the decision 

 

 

Want to know more about RS 2477? It’s a fascinating subject, great for cocktail parties and impressing the ladies/dudes with your fabulous wonkitude. Read WCPR’s Revised Statute 2477 policy primers: