Suit to reopen 3 Juab roads

The battle between the federal government and the state over claims to rural county roads is heating up, with the Utah attorney general's office filing suit Thursday to force the reopening of three routes in Juab County.

The state says the roads involved have been in public use for more than 100 years.

The U.S. District Court lawsuit is the fifth legal action taken by the state in its Public Roads Over Public Lands Project — a joint effort with Utah counties to control established public roads on public lands. In June, the state and Emery County sued to overturn BLM closures of seven roads in that county.

"We are not seeking broader use of federal lands. We are simply asking the federal government to recognize long-held rights and follow the law," says Lynn Stevens, Utah Public Lands Coordina- tor.

In the latest action, attorneys for the state argue that BLM officials violated federal law by ignoring rights of way granted by Congress over the use and maintenance of roads that cut through federal land. They allege BLM officials closed portions of the three roads to maintenance by Juab County workers and to vehicular travel.

"BLM has also issued trespass citations for county maintenance and improvements on these rights-of-way and other rights of way in the state," the suit states. "These circumstances present a case or controversy through federal abridgement of the counties' rights pertaining to the rights-of-way and constitute a real and immediate threat by the BLM."

Utah's lawyers contend that it has been BLM's policy in the past that "a road be considered a public road when public funds have been spent on the road." Historically, the suit states that BLM has not objected to normal maintenance on the three roads, nor did it require the county to seek pre-authorization from BLM before doing road maintenance.

"Juab County has performed normal maintenance activities on thousands of miles of roads for decades," the suit adds.

State officials say each road has a history of use, some stretching as far back as the 1870s. They are in extreme western Juab County, not far from the Nevada line.

• Granite Canyon Road — 6.5 miles — has been used by ranchers, sheep herders, prospectors and campers since the 1880s. The road has been maintained by bulldozers, and grading began in the 1950s.

• Tom's Creek Road — 9 miles — has been used by homesteaders, ranchers, prospectors and recreational users since the 1870s. It has been maintained by shovels and picks since the 1930s and later by county road crews using heaving machinery.