Woo Hoo! RS 2477 stays!

[Uncle Ben]

BRC ACTION ALERT:
GREAT NEWS! FEDERAL COURT DISMISSES UTAH R.S. 2477 LAWSUIT

Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,

As most BRC members know, rights of ways granted pursuant to R.S. 2477 are the only guaranteed public access across public lands.

Yesterday, a federal judge in Salt Lake City dismissed a decade old lawsuit designed to diminish or eliminate those public access rights. The lawsuit was filed in 1996 against the Bureau of Land Management in Utah by some of the most notorious anti-access groups, including the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the Sierra Club.

In his ruling, the Utah District Court cited a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision. For info on that key decision please read: R.S. 2477: THE LEGAL BATTLE CONTINUES
http://www.sharetrails.org/magazine.cfm?story=705

Joe Baird of the Salt Lake Tribune reports the news:
Environmentalists: Court rules issue is settled, suit is moot
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_4194188

Read and enjoy!

Brian Hawthorne
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102

 

[Kipper]

 

[Inukshuk]

Not much in the Forum on RS 2477 but for anyone who knows about it or wants to learn, here is a great primer article from this months Colorado Lawyer magazine.

Fitting to revive a 20 year old thread to discuss a 160 year old law "enacted on July 26, 1866, as part of the Mining Act of 1866." Repealed under FLPMA in 1972 but RS 2477 routes established before 1972 are still valid.

"Part 1 of this two-part article explores the complex facts and
laws arising from a remnant of an old federal
mining statute known as US Revised Statute
2477 (RS 2477),2 which provides that the mere
use of a roadway over property when it was in
the public domain creates legal recognition of
public access.3 Simply by traversing a relatively
defined route over what were once public lands,
miners, homesteaders, ranchers, and settlers
may have created a public highway that survives
to this day irrespective of whether the route
is still in use, or even perceptible. This article
discusses only RS 2477 issues implicated by
private property ownership. Part 2 will focus on
typical defenses to RS 2477 claims, procedural
issues that may arise in litigating public road
claims involving private property, and the
nuts and bolts of preparing and presenting
a compelling case at trial in which one party
seeks a judicial finding regarding whether the
route at issue is or is not a public road, including
relevant evidence."