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(UT) DOI UTAH reach agreement on RS2477

Ed A. Stevens

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
DOI UTAH reach agreement on RS2477


The memo of understanding follows the DOI
press release in this email.




Office of the Secretary
Contact: John Wright
For Immediate Release: April 9, 2003
202-208-6416


Interior and State of Utah Reach Landmark
Agreement on RS 2477 Rights of Way Issue

WASHINGTON -- The Interior Department and the state of
Utah signed a landmark agreement today aimed at
resolving the uncertainty about existing rights-of-way
claims on federal land. The agreement establishes a
process to resolve many of the long-standing disputes over
Revised Statute 2477
(R.S. 2477) existing rights-of-way in Utah. The
rights-of-way acknowledgment does not apply to
environmentally sensitive areas such as national parks,
refuges and wilderness areas.

The memorandum of understanding was announced during
a signing ceremony with Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton
and Gov. Mike Leavitt. "We listened and applied a
practical approach to decision- making," Secretary Norton
said. "It's time to move forward and, by working
collaboratively with the state of Utah, we are able to resolve
a long-disputed issue that may otherwise have lead to
costly and lengthy litigation."

Recognizing the special nature of national parks, refuges
and wilderness, the MOU acknowledgment process does
not apply to these areas. The state of Utah has also
agreed to work cooperatively with the Interior Department
to minimize trespass situations on roads outside the scope
of the MOU. It establishes a process to acknowledge
existing roads that were and continue to be publicly
traveled and regularly maintained. For example, if a road
currently disturbs the ground to a width of 20 feet, Interior
will acknowledge that width. If a road is currently a gravel
road, Interior will acknowledge it as a gravel road. A dirt
road could not be transformed into a wider paved highway
under the terms of the agreement without additional review
by the Interior Department.

The Interior Department will use the recordable disclaimer
of interest process to acknowledge asserted rights under
the agreement. This process, which includes an
opportunity for full public participation, provides a
mechanism for acknowledging claims when requirements
of applicable statutes, regulations and the terms of the
MOU have been satisfied.

Federal, state, local land managers and environmental
advocacy organizations have all demonstrated a desire to
put disputes surrounding R.S. 2477 to rest and to move
toward an approach to land management that emphasizes
cooperation. The MOU between Interior and the state of
Utah exemplifies a cooperative approach that
acknowledges current uses of federal lands.

The R.S. 2477 was enacted as part of the Mining Law of
1866, during a time when the federal governments focus
was on encouraging settlement and development of the
West. Congress passed R.S. 2477 to ensure miners'
routes to their claims and cattlemen's trails for their herds
by granting rights-of-way over any federal land not
otherwise set aside. Although Congress repealed the
statute in 1976 with the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act, it did not terminate rights-of-way in
existence at that time. As part of the new law in 1976,
Congress recognized all valid existing claims to these
rights-of-way as of that date.

On July 16, 2002, the National Association of Counties
adopted a resolution urging the Department of the Interior
to adopt a policy approach to R.S. 2477 rights-of-way that
would allow counties to "maintain historical rights of way
across federally managed lands."

The interim policy on R.S. 2477, issued in 1997, will
continue to apply to all other requests for a rights-of-way
acknowledgment. States and counties that are interested
in an acknowledgment may submit proposed memoranda
of agreement to DOI for consideration. The proposed
memoranda of agreement must be generally consistent
with the principles of the department's MOU with Utah.





Memorandum of Understanding:
Department of the Interior and State of Utah

Resolution of R.S. 2477 Right-of-Way Claims

Fact Sheet

Cooperating to Resolve a Conflict: Protecting Natural Resources and State Infrastructure



• The Department of the Interior and State of Utah
are resolving a controversy that has resulted in years of uncertainty about right-of-way claims on federal lands through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

• The MOU establishes a process to resolve many of
the longstanding disputes over R.S. (Revised Statute) 2477 rights-of-way in Utah. The right-of-way acknowledgement process under the MOU does not apply to environmentally sensitive areas such as national parks, refuges, and wilderness areas.

• R.S. 2477 was a Homestead-era federal law in place from 1866 until 1976. It states that “the right of way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted.” States and local governments throughout the western United States used R.S. 2477 to construct the roads that are the foundation of the transportation infrastructure in many States. The statute allowed local
governments to acquire a property interest in roads and other public highways they constructed across unreserved federal land.

• Unresolved conflicts over the status of
rights-of-way created pursuant to R.S. 2477 have created “a continuing cloud on Federal agencies’ ability to manage federal lands,” according to a June 1993 Department of the Interior Report to Congress.

• In August, 2002, a bipartisan group of eight
western governors urged that Interior “bring finality” to R.S. 2477 disputes in a “cooperative manner.”

• On July 16, 2002, the National Association of
Counties adopted a resolution urging the Department of the Interior to adopt a policy approach to R.S.2477 rights-of-way that would allow counties to “maintain historical rights of way across federally managed lands.”

The Solution: Acknowledging Publicly Traveled and Regularly
Maintained Roads in Utah

• Through the MOU, Interior and the State of Utah
agree to focus their limited resources on acknowledging those R.S. 2477 rights-of-way that are unquestionably part of the State’s transportation infrastructure.

• The MOU provides a simple acknowledgement process that applies to existing publicly traveled and regularly maintained roads in Utah.

• The State of Utah has spent many years and
millions of dollars cataloguing, photographing, documenting, and verifying the history and use of many roads in the State. Through this process, the State has filtered out some R.S. 2477 proposed claims and developed the evidence that will be used to submit acknowledgement requests for well-documented roads under the terms of the MOU.

The Solution: Recognizing the Special Nature of Parks, Refuges,
and Wilderness

• The MOU excludes national parks, refuges, and
wilderness from the acknowledgement process of the MOU. The State of Utah has also agreed to work cooperatively with the Department of the Interior to minimize trespass situations on roads outside the scope of the MOU.

The Details: How Will the MOU Work?

• The MOU sets forth a process to acknowledge
existing roads that were and continue to be publicly traveled and regularly maintained.

• Under the MOU, if, for example, a road currently
disturbs the ground to a width of twenty feet, Interior will acknowledge that width. If a road is currently a gravel road, Interior will acknowledge it as a gravel road. A dirt road could not be transformed into a wider paved highway under the terms of the agreement without additional review by the Interior Department.

• Under the MOU, a road cannot be substantially
changed beyond the scope of routine maintenance by expansion or relocation without additional review by the Department, and this allows counties to maintain the character, usage, and travel safety of the road existing at the date of the MOU.

• The Department will use the recordable disclaimer
of interest process to acknowledge asserted rights under the MOU. This process, which includes an opportunity for public participation, provides a mechanism for acknowledging claims when requirements of applicable statutes, regulations, and the terms of the MOU have been satisfied.

Moving Forward through Cooperation

• An Interim Policy on R.S.2477, issued in 1997,
will continue to apply to all other requests for rights-of-way acknowledgement. However, other interested states and counties may submit to Interior for consideration proposed memoranda of agreement that are generally consistent with the principles of the Department’s MOU with Utah.

• Federal, state, and local land managers and
environmental advocacy organizations have all demonstrated a desire to put disputes surrounding R.S. 2477 to rest and move towards an approach to land management that emphasizes cooperation. The MOU between the Department of the Interior and the State of Utah exemplifies a cooperative approach to resolving R.S. 2477 issues.

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