Judge Clark Waddoups, Senior Judge with the Utah Federal District Court, has been presiding over the consolidated Bellwether RS2477 case filed by Kane County and the State of Utah against the United States and SUWA for many years. In August, Judge Waddoups made a couple of very important rulings that show he has a clear predisposition to substantiate the rights of Utah and Kane County in preserving rights for access on RS2477 claims, of which there are almost 12,000 roads. To illustrate the importance of this it should be remembered that 120 miles of the routes closed in Moab are on existing RS2477 claims.

The first ruling was really aimed straight at SUWA, who is acting as a Intervenor Defendant with the United States. Judge Waddoups expressed that he believed the United States was interesting in settling the long running, complex, and expensive case and that SUWA was dragging it on and unwilling to settle. He was openly frustrated with SUWA’s endless motions taking up the court’s time, and he repeated and clarified his prior ruling that barred SUWA from further motions unless they are approved in advance by the court.

The second Decision in the same case was in response to a motion from BLM that would have dismissed all 12,000 RS2477 claims.

Judge Waddoups approved the dismissal of a single road claim, but denied the request for dismissal of the remaining claims. Further, his 80 page Order was a memorandum of his reasoning for his decision, and went into great detail about his thinking on RS2477 Claims, and why they should be honored without the adjudication of each claim as was contained in prior orders. The decision is very interesting reading, and it seems clear that Judge Waddoups is going to flip the tables on RS2477 road claims, putting BLM on the defense to refute claims rather than requiring the State to gain approval on each claim.

Judge Waddoups made a couple other important distinctions in his ruling:

• Cited the recent Corner Post Supreme Court case to refute many of the statute of limitations motions to dismiss, another win for public land users
• Introduced many theories about why the 2017 BLM SUWA Settlement Agreement may be on shaky ground. This is the reason we are in the process of revisiting 17 Utah Travel Management Plans.

The case is still ongoing, but it appears Judge Waddoups wants to see it close soon, but he’s shown us a peek behind the curtain. This ruling is so monumental that the information I’ve been hearing is that BLM is reconsidering their current TMP/RMP processes in Utah. Once the case is is closed and the decision published, it can be cited in many other land use claims.

Here’s the ruling in its entirety with highlighting of some of the key findings.

By Loren Campbell, President Utah Public Lands Alliance            November 2, 2023

We have been in a fight for access rights for all in Moab for a very long time, and that battle has heated up a lot in the last year as the result of a 2017 Settlement Agreement between the Department of the Interior and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to settle a lawsuit from 2008.

In September, BLM announced their decision to close access to 317 miles of some of the most popular roads and trails in the world in Labyrinth Canyon Gemini Bridges, just north of Moab, 28% of the road network. Also affected by the decision is the closing of almost 120 dispersed camping sites located along the closed roads.

On Monday October 30, an appeal was filed by BlueRibbon Coalition, CO Offroad Trail Defenders. And Patrick McKay. Matt Miller is the senior and lead attorney at the Center for the American Future at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, who filed the appeal with almost 1800 pages of exhibits, hand delivered in boxes to the BLM Moab Field Office.  Mr. Miller said “Every American shares in the ownership of public lands, which exist for the responsible enjoyment of anyone who wants to recreate on them. BLM is trying to move use of these lands from the rights-based system that has endured for decades to a permission based system that allows bureaucrats to close these lands to serve their policy preferences.” To read the full Notice of Appeal, click here.

The State of Utah, the United Four Wheel Drive Association, and a few others also filed appeals.

The Interior Board of Land Appeals has 45 days to respond to the appeal and request for stay, during which time the closures will not go into effect, thus trails will remain OPEN!

Utah Public Lands Alliance has pledged to match the first $50,000 in donations dollar for dollar for BlueRibbon Coalition’s Legal Defense Fund when the donation is made through this link. UPLA is also looking for companies or individuals that will extend the match beyond the first $50,000. In addition, every donor will also be able to claim BRC’s Highly Acclaimed Lost Trails Guidebook Volume 2. Your financial support is essential to winning this fight, please give whatever you can. If your organization would like to learn more about increasing the match, please contact me.

Watch an excellent and comprehensive video by Marcus from CORE that explains where we are and how we get here, including a candid assessment of the BLM decision, the political bias involved at both the local and Federal level, and most importantly why we need to support BlueRibbon Coalition financially. This is a turning point in our fight against the ever increasing federal overreach of their statutory authority, and if we don’t fight to win now, every decision going forward should be expected to have the same consequences.

Visit BlueRibbon Coalition for a map of the most popular trails closed by the Plan and more information. We also encourage you to become a Member of BRC

Access the ArcGIS Map done by Patrick McKay from Colorado Trail Defenders by Clicking here

A developer is proposing to close 2 public access routes to BLM Lands in Virgin that are designated as RS 2477 Roads. These roads have been in existence and use for many decades, so should be protected from closure by both Utah Code 72-5-104 and RS 2477 protections.

I have been working on this for several months,and will be sending a letter to the Washington County Board of Commissioners this week. I sent the letter this morning along with 81 copies of support messages. Thank you for those that responded. I will keep everyone informed of the progress.

Following is the letter with several attachments included as links in the letter to give you more information.

June 1, 2023

Washington County Commissioners

Dear Commissioners:

I am the President of Utah Public Lands Alliance, and a resident of Virgin, Utah. I recreate often in the BLM and SITLA lands between Gooseberry Mesa and Entrada Drive in Virgin. I am very concerned that the Town of Virgin allowed a developer to close a public highway to vehicle access connecting Entrada Dr with BLM land and Sheeps Bridge Road. At their October 2022 Town Council Meeting, Virgin approved a subdivision plan allowing the developer, JBARS, to close the highways known as RS 2477 Road 0648 and 0650. The attached Access Rights article quotes “that even if abandoned by a local government entity, RS 2477 ar still public roads until abandoned by the State Department of Transportation….this makes it impossible for cities and counties to completely vacate roads created on federal lands before statehood.” Utah Code Ann 872-5-305

I have been working with Laura Ault, Jake Garfield, and Assistant Attorney General Hayden Ballard from the Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office about the closure. I also discussed this with Washington County Regional Tourism Regulatory Affairs Director Heath Hansen, and he suggested the next step might be to reach out to the County Commissioners.

The developer claimed that the roads are seldom used by the public, which is untrue. My property is adjacent to Road 0648 and I can testify that the road is used frequently by ATV/UTVs, Jeeps, Equestrians, Pickups, Campers, and Mountain Bikers. Frequent use is also evidenced by the multitude of vehicle tracks on the road. Both roads have also been used for access to Red Bull Rampage, an annual event which attracts thousands of enthusiasts every year into the beautiful backcountry. The roads are also frequently used as routes for both biking and running events. I, along with many other homeowners in Virgin purchased their lots to build homes in part because of the easy access to BLM.

The developer also claimed that access to the BLM land could be accessed from Sheeps Bridge Road, but that is 10 miles away over rough roads that require 4 wheel drive and high clearance, so it will severely restrict access by the current OHV, camping and biking users. Further, it will change the area from being a circuit route to just a one way in and out.

Further, these highways also provide the only alternate access to homeowners south of the Virgin River if the Camino del Rio bridge were closed for any reason.

Washington County’s Resource Management Plan Land Access Plan clearly recognizes the importance of protecting RS 2477 highways. I would like for the County to contact the Town of Virgin about finding alternatives to keep these public highways accessible to the BLM lands. In addition to being afforded protection under RS 2477, the roads would also qualify for protection under Utah Code 72-5-104 as a Public Use Dedicated Road, having been in use for many decades.

I attached several resources for your information:

• A map of the area showing the RS 2477 proposed closures and the surrounding recreation area
• An excellent resource guide by the Utah Public Land Use Institute on Public Access Rights on Public Roads and Private Lands that describes RS 2477 and 72-5-104 public highway dedications.
• Excerpt from the Washington County RMP Land Access Policy
• Original letter and endorsement letters from others adding their request to keep these historic highways kept open.

Thank you for your consideration, I am available at any time to discuss this matter further, or to arrange a tour of the area.

Sincerely,

Loren Campbell
President, Utah Public Lands Alliance
Virgin Resident

Attachments