09-02-2010
Kane County Resumes Maintenance on the Skutumpah Road
Great news on the maintenance for the Skutumpah road and credit given
to our County Commissioners, especially Commissioner Habbeshaw and
also Representative Mike Noel for their efforts to move this road
battle forward.
The announcement was made Monday evening and the county crew was out
on the road the very next day. I was lucky enough to be there and
celebrate the first blade cut made, see attached photo.
The commissioners listened to the concerns of the members of Deer
Springs Ranch and worked hard to get this to be the very first road
opened. We can now send in our letters of appreciation to the
commissioners at 76 North Main, Kanab, Utah 84741.
Below is a press release for the road which mentions the distances
that are now open. I would like to explain that the areas that are not
open for maintenance are the areas that were state trust grounds that
were traded out when the monument was created. The BLM felt that these
were not valid road segments because they were not BLM property at the
time the road was constructed and claimed. The county will continue to
work on these segments as well, but it will take a bit more time.
Unfortunately one of the largest segments for the road not validated
because of this issue is the hill right before Deer Springs Ranch
where the cut in the hill is and around the bend down to the valley
where the ranch private property begins. This area is wash boarded
quite badly, so we just need to use extra caution there until this
matter is resolved. As you dive the road you will be able to see sign
posts where these road segments begin and drop off the county
maintenance approval for now.
So, all in all a great thing for the ranch. We can have confidence
that the county's efforts will prevail and that the BLM will see how
impractical it is for them to hold off the claim that the county has
over the additional road segments.
Best regards,
Dirk Clayson
DSROA President
Kane
County Commission
Douglas K. Heaton, Daniel W. Hulet, Mark W. Habbeshaw
76
North Main
Kanab,
Utah
(435)
644-4901
August 31, 2010
PRESS RELEASE
Kane County wins its first R.S. 2477 road - the Skutumpah road
On August 30, 2010, in a Kane County quiet title suit in the United
States District Court, the United States acknowledged Kane County's
ownership and jurisdiction of approximately 26 miles of the 33 mile
long Skutumpah road. The County will start signing, maintaining and
repairing the road today.
The Skutumpah road is believed to be the first Utah R.S. 2477 highway
with title confirmed in court, and may be the first R.S. 2477 road
adjudicated on lands managed by the Department of the Interior
(Interior).
The State of Utah joined Kane County in the suit to quiet title to
twelve roads, including the Skutumpah road. Several environmental
groups were denied intervention in the case by the Tenth Circuit Court
of Appeals. Kane County will continue to press its case and expects
to quiet title to the remaining roads, and the rest of the Skutumpah
road, within the next few months.
R.S. 2477 public highway rights-of-way were granted to states and
counties from 1866 to 1976 to facilitate the settlement of the West.
The majority of roads crossing public lands were established under
R.S. 2477 and our communities depend on the secure and continued
existence of these roads. Although repealed by the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976, all established R.S. 2477 highways
were grandfathered as valid existing rights.
In 1997, Secretary Bruce Babbitt directed Interior to ignore R.S. 2477
rights and created unnecessary controversy and conflict. Interior
agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), have closed and
restricted numerous county roads across the West claiming that R.S.
2477 rights must be "determined" before the agency will "respect them
as valid existing rights," and yet Interior has vigorously worked to
avoid having any R.S. 2477 right-of-way recognized as valid.
For the last two years in court Interior denied that Kane County had
any right to the Skutumpah Road, but it separately informed the public
that Kane County should maintain it. U.S. District Court Judge Clark
Waddoups recently advised U.S. attorneys that the federal government
had placed Kane County in a "catch 22" and suggested that the
attorneys coordinate with the county to resolve some of the roads in
the county.
The failure of the BLM to maintain the Skutumpah road resulted in many
public safety dangers along the road that warranted an expedited court
hearing. When pressed, the United States finally acknowledged Kane
County's ownership of the Skutumpah road. Although the full extent
Kane County's rights are yet to be defined in the litigation, the
County now has the necessary jurisdiction to properly maintain, repair
and manage the Skutumpah road as it historically has done.
Kane County is in the process of securing quiet title or formal
recognition of all of its roads documented as R.S. 2477 roads.
