A list of
the new items posted since the last update in October, 1997
The documents and material on this site are grouped below first according to varying levels of interest and need and then by the major RS 2477 issue categories.
A list of
the new items posted since the last update in October, 1997
OVER THE PAST DECADE, THE BATTLE BETWEEN RS 2477 ACTIVISTS AND
PRIVATE LANDOWNERS HAS ESCALATED. HERE IS THE LATEST NEWS ON THE
RS
2477 LAND WARS...
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN...
I. FOR A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE 2477 ISSUE
A simple explanation of RS 2477:
a
relatively short introduction to RS 2477 (including where it
gets that name) and to some of the key concepts and issues.
An RS 2477 Primer: a very brief
explanation of each of the terms in the law and a discussion of
some of the controversies they have raised.
Some RS 2477 Myths Debunked: these
are
short refutations of the myths being spread by access
opponents about RS 2477 rights of way.
II. FOR A MORE DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF THE MAJOR 2477 ISSUES
In addition to the items listed above, you might want to
also look
at:
Ten Essential Points Concerning RS
2477
Rights Of Way: an excellent law journal article (but
very readable for non lawyers!) which provides an overview of the ten
key points essential to
understanding the issue.
Senate Testimony On S. 1425:
presented
by Ms. Barbara Hjelle, an attorney and acknowledged
expert on 2477, the testimony focuses on the specific bill before the
committee, but contains a
great deal of very useful background information and some good
examples.
Settled Precedents On RS 2477:a
listing and brief summary of settled precedents on 2477 issues
provides an excellent overview.
III. OF PARTICULAR VALUE TO COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND ACCESS ACTIVISTS
An RS 2477 Workshop Handbook:
Developed
for Utah counties, this handbook contains a wealth
of information useful for any county or for any activists who want to
protect the public's access
rights. Includes explanations of the important issues, a checklist for
counties, sample forms for
documenting RS 2477 claims and much more.
IV. FOR AN IN-DEPTH UNDERSTANDING--DETAILED DOCUMENTS RELATING TO EACH OF THE MAJOR 2477 ISSUE AREAS
There are four primary arenas in which various aspects of
the 2477
issue have been actively
addressed recently. One relates to 1992 Congressional Research Service
(CRS) report and a
closely related Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Report to Congress
issued in 1993. The
second is the release in 1994 of draft 2477 regulations by the Interior
Department. A third area
relates to 2477 legislation in Congress. The fourth is the continuing
activity on 2477 issues in the
courts.
CRS Report/BLM Report to Congress
Congressional Research Service (CRS) compiled a report in
1992 which
served as the basis of the
later BLM Report to Congress and provided the philosophical basis of
the draft regulations issued
by Interior. Critics maintain that it is badly flawed. The withering critique of that document
developed by Congressmen Young (Alaska) and Orton (Utah) is reproduced
on this site. Also
reproduced is an extensive and very detailed
critique of the BLM report to Congress which was
done by Brian Bremner, Garfield (Utah) County Engineer and an
expert on the technical and
documentation aspects of RS 2477. The comments
of the Pacific Legal Foundation are also
available.
The Draft BLM Regulations
The second is the draft BLM regulations themselves. They have generated comments by some of the best legal minds in the country and contain a wealth of information about 2477 as well as legal and historical research. A brief introduction to the issues associated with the draft regulations is provided, along with a brief description of some of the comments and related material included on this website. The 1988 policy memo by then-Interior Secretary Donald Hodel on RS 2477, which summarized the Interior Departments policy over the previous century (and which is at odds with the draft regulations Interior circulated just six years later) is also available. A subsequent "BLM Director's Memo Expanding On Secretary Hodel's Memo" is also on this site. The comments filed by the State of Alaska, the Utah Association of Counties, the Pacific Legal Foundation and Seattle University Professor of Law David Engdahl as well as an action alert issued by the Coalition to Protect Public Access Rights are all available as well.
On January 22, 1997, Interior Secretary Babbitt issued a memorandum revoking the Hodel policy and
attempting to issue de facto regulations without going through the
required legal processes. A short analysis and
critique of this memorandum is avialable on this site.
2477 Legislation (S.1425)
S.1425, the legislation which
was moving
through the 104th Congress, is available as well as
comprehensive testimony on the legislation
presented to the Senate
Committee. Also included are the detailed answers
to a series of questions posed by the
committee to Ms. Barbara Hjelle, a lawyer recognized as one of the
foremost experts on RS 2477,
as well as her critique of the Interior Department's testimony on S.
1425.
Court Cases
A brief explanation of the history of
the Burr
Trail Road case, one of the significant precedent
setting cases of the past decade is available. Also, a series of
"before and after" photographs of
sections of the road taken prior to and following the maintenance work
which has generated and
continues to generate legal maneuvering is included. Test yourself to
see if you can determine
which photos are "before" and which "after" and then decide if any
significant impacts resulted
from the work. Also a brief on the Shultz case
in Alaska, another recent precedent setting case, is
included in this section.
A listing of the most pertinent court cases is also available.
A Listing Of
What's New On This Site Since The October, 1997 Update
The following items have been added to this site since it was last
updated:
Key legal documents from USA v. Garfield County
(Utah), the
Boulder-to-Bullfrog Road (Burr
Trail Road) litigation. For a decade, various litigation on
the Boulder-to-Bullfrog road has
consistently affirmed the rights granted by Congress in RS 2477
rights-of-way grants and set
important legal precedents. Garfield County's litigation team has
produced a number of
documents which represent "cutting edge" legal thinking in defense of
RS 2477 rights. The ones
most useful to county attorneys and access rights activists are now
posted on this site. This
extensive collection of documents has its own sub-index.
An outrageous exchange between a federal government
attorney
and Federal District Judge
Jenkins. In the Boulder-to-Bullfrog Road case, the Clinton
Administration asserted that a county
county could exercise no rights under its RS 2477 grant without first
getting permission from a federal agency, including taking a water
truck down an RS 2477 road merely to control dust! This is the actual court transcript of this exchange
between the
government attorney and a clearly incredulous federal judge.
Before and after photos of
the road maintenance activity which
triggered the Clinton Administration to sue in USA v. Garfield.
Can you tell the difference? Most
people can't and these photos put the lie to statements filed in court
about this incident. A few
pictures in this case should have been worth more than the many
thousands of words of legal
filings which have already been generated!
Documents related to
ecoterrorist
hacking of this Web site.
Ecoterrorists in July of 1997 paid the ultimate compliment to the
effectiveness of this site by
hacking into it and destroying it. This is the first reported
eco-terrorist incident in cyber-space
and, while this site was quickly restored within a day, such activity
is a federal crime. The Utah
Association of Counties, which sponsors this site, has asked the FBI,
the federal agency with
jurisdiction, to investigate this crime. The letter to the FBI, which
provides some additional
details of the incident, is now on this site. A press release, which
makes observations on the
nature of this crime, is also posted.
Excerpts from Federal District
Judge
Sam's decision supporting
county RS 2477 rights. These excerpts are from a decision
by Judge Sam rejecting the
Clinton Administration's Motion for Partial Summary Judgement against
Kane County in
southern Utah, one of three counties being sued for exercising their
traditional and legitimate RS
2477-related rights. In his decision, Judge Sam makes a number of
observations which are very
supportive of the county's rights, reaffirming a long string of similar
judicial rulings. This
document was prepared by the Western Counties Resources Policy
Institute.
Short briefing paper on
the significance of an opinion by the General
Accounting Office (GAO) on the Congressionally imposed moratorium on
issuing RS 2477
regulations. In 1994 the Clinton Administration issued draft
regulations which were so bad
they set off a firestorm of protest and led Congress to impose annual
moratoriums preventing the
Administration from issuing final regulations without specific
congressional approval. (For a
more detailed discussion of the many problems and illegalities with
these regulations, see the
"Action Alert" issued by the Coalition to
Protect Public Access Rights posted on this site.) Congressional allies
adopted legislation in 1996 aimed at making the moratorium permanent,
thus
avoiding having to reimpose it each year. The GAO, which sets
accounting standards for the
federal government, confirmed in this opinion that the most recent
language was a open-ended
moratorium, a major victory for access rights activists. Prepared by
the Western Counties'
Resources Policy Institute.
"Basic Truths About RS 2477
Rights-of-Way." This popular
and widely circulated short listing of basic facts about RS 2477
developed by the Western
Counties' Resources Policy Institute is now on this site. The subtitle
is "How to Determine if
You Are Being Mislead or Lied To" and it is very accurate. This is a
very helpful two minute
lesson (or refresher) on the fundamentals of RS 2477!
A COMPLETE LISTING OF ALL
DOCUMENTS
AVAILABLE ON THIS WEBSITE
Listed by the following categories:
The Congressional Research Service
Report
An RS 2477 Workbook for
Counties.
Article:"Ten Essential Points
Concerning RS 2477 Rights-of-Way
Congressional Research
Service 2477
Report.
Detailed analysis of Report
attached
to Young/Orton letter.
Bureau of Land Management
Report to
Congress.
Pacific Legal Foundation
Comments.
Extensive comments by
Garfield
(Utah) County Engineer Brian Bremner.
Department of Interior Draft
RS 2477
Regulation.
Action Alert and analysis
issued by
the Coalition to Protect Public Access Rights.
Comments of the State of
Alaska.
Comments of Seattle
University
School of Law Constitutional Law Professor David Engdahl.
Pacific Legal Foundation
Comments.
Comments of the Utah
Association of
Counties.
Interior Secretary Donald
Hodel's 1988
Policy memo on 2477.
BLM Director's Memo
Expanding On
Interior Secretary Hodel's 2477 Memo.
A brief introduction to
issues
raised by the draft regulations.
Text of S. 1425 as introduced.
Text of S. 1425 as reported
by the
Senate committee.
Testimony of Barbra Hjelle
on S.1425.
A brief history of the Burr
Trail Road
court cases.
A listing of significant
precedents
on RS 2477.
A friend of the court brief
on the
Shultz case.
A photo comparison of the road
work on
the Burr Trail Road inside Capitol Reef National Park.
Photo comparisons of the work done on the Burr Trail Road.