NEWS: RECENT FEDERAL COURT DECISION CASTS DOUBTS ON SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY'S NETWORK OF ROAD CLAIMS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- March 4, 2004
Contact: Byron Kahr, California Wilderness Coalition, (909) 781-1336 or (909) 260-8833
Utah Judge upholds a standard that would invalidate thousands of miles of claims made by San Bernardino County under an obscure 1866 statute known as RS 2477, additional national developments may hinder county efforts to take over roads and trails on federal land.
Riverside, Calif. - A federal district court Judge has rejected right-of-way claims on public lands made by three Utah counties in a decision that may effect San Bernardino County's own road claims. Both San Bernardino and the Utah counties have asserted ownership over routes by citing a provision from an 1866 mining law known as Revised Statute (RS) 2477.
Judge Tena Campbell, upholding a landmark 2001 decision, ruled that routes over public lands must display evidence of construction and have a specific destination in order to qualify as county right-of-ways under RS 2477. San Bernardino County's Board of Supervisors have asserted ownership over more than 5,000 miles of routes under RS 2477 since 1994, and re-affirmed their position in a September 2001 resolution. Nearly half of the county's claims traverse the Mojave National Preserve. Additional claims cross Death Valley National Park and dozens of protected wilderness areas.
"The vast majority of San Bernardino County's claims, when checked out on the ground, turn out to be wash bottoms, cow-paths, and faint jeep trails leading to nowhere- the claims would not even approach Judge Campbell's standard, " said Byron Kahr, Desert Field Organizer for the CWC.
The California Wilderness Coalition released a report in November documenting the threats to national parks and wilderness areas posed by the county's RS 2477 road claims.
"It's time for the county to drop their dubious claims and start focusing time and resources on improvements for real roads," said Kim Floyd of Wrightwood, conservation chair for the San Gorgonio Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Further hindering San Bernardino County officials' attempts to take control of roads over public lands, the Congressional General Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report last month stating that an agreement between the Department of Interior and the state of Utah concerning RS 2477 routes is illegal. The county hopes to establish its own agreement with the Department of Interior.
The GAO determined that the agreement, which would allow the federal government to disclaim all interest in RS 2477 right-of-ways over public lands in Utah, violated a 1997 Congressional moratorium on RS 2477 related rule making. In a letter to Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (D-CT), the Department of Interior revealed that they have been approached by San Bernardino County about negotiating an agreement on RS 2477 roads. San Bernardino County applied for a disclaimer of interest on the 42-mile Camp Rock Road last April, but has not yet received a decision.
"Until Congress determines a solution to the RS 2477 controversy, the county should take advantage of modern land laws to protect transportation access on real roads," said Byron Kahr.
Founded in 1976, the California Wilderness Coalition defends
the pristine landscapes that make California unique, provide a home to our wildlife,
and preserve a place for spiritual renewal.
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Just three miles off of Interstate 80, 
