Utah Legislature: Full appellate panel will hear Kane County road issue

DENVER — In a rare move, the full panel of 20 justices at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the Kane County case involving access to disputed roads.

The "en banc" hearing was agreed to by a majority of the justices, who said a rehearing was in order over the county's fight to claim so-called RS2477 roads.

"This a victory for Kane County, who will soon be on the road again," said an ecstatic Mike Noel, a prominent and conservative Republican lawmaker who has been at the center of the political fight for access.

"This is pretty rare and it means we have a good fight,' said Noel, R-Kanab. Briefs in the matter are due to the court over the next several weeks, with oral arguments tentatively set for the week of May 3.

The case will once again visit the issue of Kane County's erection of signs in prized wilderness and recreation areas, signs that went contrary to the wishes of federal land managers.

The county has claimed several "roads" that were designated in the Civil War era on more than 1.3 million acres within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and adjacent areas.

The RS2477 statute created rights of way to construct highways over certain parcels of public lands, rights that local governments contend have been explicitly preserved over the years.

In one of the most active disputes over the issue, both Kane and Garfield counties have laid claim to roadways — often dusty, unpaved trails — that have been used for years. The state public lands planning office is mapping RS2477 roads, having recorded 2,200 "Class B" roads that may still be disputed in court.

Monument and wilderness area designations made many of those roads off-limits to previously accepted uses, giving rise to a conflict that pits environmentalists against local government officials.

The dispute boiled over in 2003 when Kane County officials removed 31 Bureau of Land Management signs prohibiting off-road vehicle use. About 18 months later, county officials began erecting numerous county road signs on federal lands designating areas open to vehicle use.

The Wilderness Society and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance sued, alleging the county's placement of the signs was in direct contradiction to federal management of the areas.

In the opinion issued last September, the majority ruled that Kane County's claims were in contradiction to the federal Supremacy Clause, which relegates local claims below federal rights.