Removal of signs adding fuel to Kane-BLM feud

Nothing like putting up signs closing off dirt roads to get the attention of Kane County commissioners.

Nothing quite like taking down the signs to get the attention of federal land managers who closed it in the first place.

"The signs are inexpensive," said monument manager Dave Hunsaker. "What's costly is this damaged relationship."

And neither side is willing to yield the rights-of-way over who has rightful ownership of dirt roads within the 1.9 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Kane County Commissioner Mark Habbeshaw and Sheriff Lamont Smith say they removed the 31 signs to get Hunsaker's attention after meetings with him failed to resolve the rights-of-way dispute. The signs were on roads the county claims under a 19th-century law known as "RS 2477."

"Had we not removed the signs, there would be no impetus to consider this," said Habbeshaw. "We had to force the issue somehow. We didn't do it in a silly cowboy way. We did it quietly and asked to meet about it."

But Hunsaker says removing signs from public lands is a crime, and BLM investigators are now gathering evidence to determine whether or not to press charges.

"We should be able to work through issues without criminal threat," Habbeshaw said. "I'm not a criminal. I'm protecting the rights of the county with as much good faith as I can do that."

Kane County has long asserted its "RS 2477" routes, created through a provision in the Mining Act of 1866 that allowed states to claim rights of way across federal land. The law was repealed in 1976, but any road in place prior to that time would still qualify as a local right of way under the old law.

The state is in the process of working with counties to submit to the BLM a list of roads that existed prior to 1976 in order to resolve the ownership issue. It's all part of an agreement Gov. Mike Leavitt signed with Interior Secretary Gale Norton that sets up a process that essentially allows the state to apply to the BLM for a "recordable disclaimer of interest" in order to gain title to the road.

Sheriff Lamont Smith says the signs he removed were on roads that aren't in dispute, like Hole in the Rock and Canyonville — roads already maintained by the county. The signs were to include only the route numbers, he added. The problem is the signs also included stickers that prohibit all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles.