Counties take hit in road battle

Rural counties suffered another blow Tuesday in their long-standing fight to gain ownership over dirt roads crisscrossing public lands.

U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell upheld her landmark June 2001 decision that ruled certain county claims to road ownership under a 19th century mining law, known as RS2477, were unsubstantiated.

Counties can now take their case to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. And conservationists are gearing up for another fight.

"This decision clears the way for the counties to seek appellate review of Judge Campbell's decision," said Heidi McIntosh, attorney and conservation director for Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "We strongly believe that the issue is on solid footing and look forward to having the 10th Circuit Court of Appeal review — and ultimately uphold — this critically important ruling."

The Utah Attorney General's Office, representing the counties, isn't throwing in the towel.

"It is our intent to appeal," said Paul Murphy, spokesman for the AG's Office.

The legal dispute over rural roads dates back to 1996. That's when SUWA and the Sierra Club sued San Juan, Garfield and Kane counties for blading roads in areas under review for wilderness protection. The lawsuit specifically identified 16 routes — in Hart's Point, east of Canyonlands National Park; in the Moquith Mountain Wilderness Study Area; and in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Campbell ruled that the routes were not valid RS2477 claims because they have never been constructed and were not highways, nor did they access any particular destination.

The counties, represented by the AG's Office, appealed.

Appellate judges did not rule on the merits of Campbell's decision but dismissed the appeal because they lacked jurisdiction. Counties then turned the case back over to Campbell, who on Tuesday finalized the decision.

"The counties do not have RS2477 rights of way on 15 of the 16 routes at issue," Campbell said in her ruling.

Furthermore, she ruled "Kane County's construction work and/or proposed construction work on the Skutumpah route exceeded the scope of that right of way."

It was that road work that prompted conservation groups to sue the counties.

The ruling comes on the heels of a congressional report that asserts the Utah-federal land deal to give counties clear title to the least controversial roads they claim on federal lands is illegal.

The U.S. General Accounting Office, a research arm of Congress, recently issued an opinion saying the deal last year between Interior Secretary Gale Norton and former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt violated a 1997 appropriations law provision that prohibited any agency from issuing final rules about recognizing RS2477 roads, unless first approved by Congress.

Conservationists are hoping the latest ruling puts a nail in the coffin in the long-standing road fight.

"We're hoping the counties and state decide to back off and spend their resources on something more worthwhile," McIntosh said.

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E-mail: donna@desnews.com