Moab couple, OHVs on collision course

The 5,000 or so off-road vehicle enthusiasts expected to descend on Moab over the weekend are looking for rough roads. But they could run into some unexpected bumps.

A popular trail known as Strike Ravine near the headwaters of Kane Springs Canyon is locked in a bitter dispute between San Juan County and a Moab couple who claim ownership of the road and want to keep the rumble of Jeeps off their land.

Kiley Miller and John Rzeczycki have tried to keep the road that crosses their 160-acre parcel closed to off-highway vehicles (OHVs). But San Juan County says it can't stop OHV-ers from using the trail because it is a county road.

The upcoming annual Easter Jeep Safari, now in its 38th year and expected to draw 5,000 Jeep enthusiasts and about 1,500 vehicles, has Miller frantic.

"It's total anxiety," Miller said. "I'm definitely stressed out about it."

The organizers, Red Rock 4-Wheelers, say it is clear they have a right to use the road, but they will steer clear — for now.

"We will exclude or bypass that route," said Marty Avalos of Red Rock 4-Wheelers. "But that's not to say there won't be renegades."

San Juan County Sheriff Mike Lacy said he won't keep OHV-ers off the trail.

"We consider it a county road," he said. "We've been instructed to keep it open during that weekend."

It's an age-old conflict over who owns rural roads. But in an unusual twist, this dispute centers on whether private landowners own the road across their land or whether it is a pre-existing right-of-way owned by the county.

No actual legal deeds to the road exist to clear up the issue.

"We have so many roads," noted San Juan County attorney Craig Halls. "The majority of our roads don't have deeded rights of way."

There's a statutory process for closing a road, he added. It requires a public hearing before the San Juan County Commission, which determines whether closing it is in the best public interest.

"We've required farmers and ranchers, who over the years, want to close their roads, and a few have been closed," Halls added. "People who purchase property may own the property, but the roads are subject to an easement, and they can't just close the road."

Miller's attorney, Steve Russell, isn't so sure. "This is a little bit different," he said.

It involves state lands, not federal lands, so counties can't claim road ownership under an old mining law — "RS 2477" — which guaranteed states and counties the use of highways across federal land, Miller added.

At issue here is a state law that allows the counties rights of way across state lands provided they existed before Jan. 1, 1992.