A bill proposed by Senator Mike Lee aims to ensure that Utahns have access to the roads
that helped settle their home state, including roads throughout northeastern Utah. In 2008,
the Bureau of Land Management updated the state’s Resource Management Plans or
RMPs which was challenged due to restrictions introduced on land-use practices.
Referencing a section in Revised Statute 2477 which preserved the right-of-ways for
public use on public lands, 22 out of 29 Utah counties filed lawsuits claiming use of these
roads. There are currently over 12,500 Right-Of-Way claims covering thousands of miles
of roads, including right-of-ways throughout northeastern Utah. Senator Lee introduced
the Historic Roadways Protection Act this fall because in September, the BLM closed
317 miles of roads near Moab which included 114 miles of RS 2477 roads. Lee’s Act
aims to prevent the BLM from closing any RS 2477 roads until all legal actions have
been resolved and jurisdiction has been established, a move supported by the counties in
Utah engaged in this fight. “The bill proposed by Senator Lee, if passed, will help keep
the administrative waters clear while we continue to litigate these well established and
vital public roads,” shares Uintah County Chief Deputy Attorney Jonathan Stearmer.
“The Uintah County Attorney’s Office fully supports this effort and hopes it will bring
the unlawful closure of public roads to a halt while our claims proceed in federal court.”
