Park road battle heats up

DENVER — State officials and open-roads advocates view the Salt Creek road as a doorway to remote areas of Canyonlands National Park, but environmental groups see it as an open wound in the wilderness.

No matter how one sees it, the 11-year legal battle over this unpaved, ungraded jeep trail could have far-reaching ramifications for other roads leading into wilderness areas across the country.

On Tuesday, a special panel of 13 judges with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the issue of whether to allow the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and other environmental groups to intervene in a suit filed by San Juan County and the state of Utah against the National Park Service.

Referred to as an "en banc" hearing, the outcome of the ruling will carry heavy legal weight with other appellate districts across the country.

San Juan County asserts that under federal statute RS2477, rooted in the Mining Act of 1866, it has a right-of-way in the use of Salt Creek road and that the National Park Service cannot close the road to vehicles. In its suit against the Park Service, San Juan County also asserts it has a right to expand the road if needed.

However, SUWA filed to intervene in the case, saying it has a vested interest in keeping wilderness roads closed to vehicles. Both San Juan County and the Park Service have told SUWA to butt out, saying the group has no standing.

During oral arguments Tuesday, SUWA attorney James Mitchell said his group's interest does not need to stem from an interest to buy the land but the way the land is used.

"It's not only about ownership but a right to use," Mitchell said, adding SUWA cannot rely on the U.S. government to represent its interests.

Judges on the panel questioned if SUWA had legal standing given that the Park Service was not selling the land. One judge argued that just because the Park Service may not manage the land the way SUWA wants doesn't give SUWA the right to intervene.

"The government is an adequate representative of the public," said Park Service attorney Aron Avila, arguing that there was nothing to indicate that the government wouldn't "vigorously defend" the road's closure.

However, SUWA officials have voiced concern that under the direction of the Bush administration, the Park Service may strike a favorable settlement with San Juan County and the state.