A nearly three-decade-long fight over who controls
backcountry roads crossing federal land in Utah may soon come to an
end — and the resolution casts a huge cloud over the future
of wilderness protection. In 2000, the state threatened to sue the
federal government, claiming ownership of the roads under a Civil
War-era law known as RS 2477. On April 9, Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt,
R, dropped the threat, signing an agreement with Interior Secretary
Gale Norton (HCN, 2/3/03: Road warriors back on the offensive).
Under the agreement, Utah will stop seeking ownership of
unimproved dirt roads in areas such as national parks, national
wildlife refuges and wilderness areas. But roads on other federal
lands — such as the 2.6 million acres stripped of interim
wilderness protection by an April 11 settlement between the federal
government and the state — are fair game (HCN, 4/28/03:
Wilderness takes a massive hit). If those roads are recognized,
surrounding lands will be disqualified for protection as
wilderness, which must be roadless.
While state and
federal officials say they will include an opportunity for
“full public participation” in deciding which roads
belong to the state, no mention of public comment is made in the
agreement itself. “The doors still haven’t been
opened,” says Heidi McIntosh of the Southern Utah Wilderness
Alliance (SUWA). “From what we know of the closed-door
sessions, the major decisions have already been
made.”
Maps obtained by SUWA under the Freedom of
Information Act show the state was preparing to sue for upwards of
100,000 miles of roads, according to McIntosh. Gov. Leavitt
won’t say how many roads the agreement could cover, but Utah
has spent $4.2 million on a database of roads that it could try to
claim. The state will begin submitting claims to the federal
government early this summer.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Backcountry road deal runs over wilderness.
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