"It is said that repeating the same action over and over and expecting a different result is a sign of mental deficiency. We wouldn't presume to apply that label to the Kane County Commission. But we hope that at some point the county will accept the fact that it has no authority to dictate rules for the use of public lands."
Salt Lake Tribune, September 3, 2009
Dear friend:
In a major victory for Utah wilderness, on August 31 the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Utah’s Kane County may not override federal rules meant to protect wildlife, streams, archeological sites, wilderness and monuments by relying on unproven "highway" rights-of-way. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by SUWA, Earthjustice and The Wilderness Society in October 2005.
In 2003, officials from Kane County ripped out signs posted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. These signs were meant to keep motorists safe and protect sensitive areas
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An illegally posted sign declares a Kane County "highway" open
| from damage caused by off-road vehicles (ORVs). The county also attempted to buck federal authority by placing its own signs inviting ORV use in the very same places the BLM had prohibited it.
The court resoundingly rejected the county’s attempt to take the law into its own hands, reasoning that the county’s actions violated the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. That clause provides that federal law supersedes local or state laws involving federal issues where the two conflict. The court also held that the county must first prove its right-of-way claims are valid before federal managers must accommodate them.
The county argues that it owns the routes under a Civil War-era law known as R.S. 2477. Although the law was repealed in 1976, any valid existing rights-of-way were honored or "grandfathered" in. In Utah alone, there are more than 10,000 R.S. 2477 county “highway” claims for primitive trails, cow paths and streambeds in national parks, forests, wilderness areas, and lands proposed for wilderness designation. However, with the support of activists like you, SUWA has successfully prevented validation of any R.S. 2477 claims within the more than 9 million acres proposed for wilderness under America's Red Rock Wilderness Act.
Thank you for helping us achieve this important victory!
Sincerely,
The Staff at SUWA
PS: Would you like to become more involved in protecting Utah wilderness? Click here to sign up. 
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