The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has approved the Historic Roadways Protection Act, a bill sponsored by Chairman Mike Lee. The legislation, known as S. 90, aims to maintain access to longstanding rights-of-way across public lands in Utah while courts continue to decide ownership disputes.
The bill was introduced in response to recent federal travel management plans that have resulted in the permanent closure of hundreds of miles of roads in Utah. Many of these roads are claimed under Revised Statute 2477 (R.S. 2477), a law enacted in 1866 to promote settlement and development in the western United States. Although R.S. 2477 was repealed in 1976, Congress preserved existing rights-of-way at that time. Many of these claims are still unresolved and subject to ongoing litigation.
During the committee’s business meeting, Chairman Mike Lee expressed concern over the Bureau of Land Management’s actions regarding road closures before court cases are resolved. He stated: “Many of these roads were built long before the modern federal land management system existed,” said Chairman Lee. “When Congress repealed R.S. 2477 in 1976, it did not erase those roads. It explicitly preserved them. Yet the Bureau of Land Management is closing roads faster than the courts can adjudicate my state and counties’ claims to those roads. That is backwards.”
One example cited involved an area near Moab where a single travel management plan led to the closure of more than 300 miles of roads, with over one third claimed as R.S. 2477 rights-of-way. Utah counties have filed more than 12,500 claims for such rights statewide; many remain unresolved by the courts.
Federal courts have already issued rulings favoring Utah in several instances, including granting title for specific routes such as House Rock Valley Road and Hole-in-the-Rock Road.
Chairman Lee further explained: “The Historic Roadways Protection Act simply says this,” continued Chairman Lee.“Until the courts determine who owns these roads, the federal government may not permanently close them. It does not decide ownership. It does not resolve the lawsuits. It just ensures the damage is not done before the law has its say.”
If enacted, this legislation would prevent federal agencies from using funds to finalize or implement certain travel management plans affecting these disputed routes until all R.S. 2477 claims are fully adjudicated.
