Courtroom victory alert: A big win for states’ rights

A few years ago, Governor Herbert, the Legislature and I pushed to beef up state resources to fight Washington for Utah historical RS-2477 roads — roads that preserve access to our natural resources and recreational areas — roads that have belonged to Utahns for a long time.  Last Wednesday, Utah won an important victory in the courts in a battle to wrestle control of our roads and access to our public lands back from the federal government. Federal U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled on Wednesday in favor of Utah and Kane County, confirming our position that we, not the federal government, hold title to almost all of the roads considered in this suit. I am hopeful that this decision gives direction to other pending litigation and that the remaining cases can be settled expeditiously, with the least expense possible to taxpayers.

It was the federal government that defined, in 1976, the process by which the state and counties could retain rights to these roads – rights that were initially granted in 1866, and our assertion that the process was followed is now proven. After Judge Waddoups established that he did, in fact, have jurisdiction over the matter, he proceeded to undertake a thorough legal analysis, including visiting every road named in the case to determine whether each had met the qualifications to be retained by Utah and Kane County. He found the evidence to be “clear and convincing” that in 12 of the 15 roads considered, the qualifications had been met, leaving only six of 95 miles from his judgment to the county.

I applaud the care and precision taken by Judge Waddoups to come to this finding, as his thoroughness gives even greater surety and validity to our victory and increases the chance of quick resolution to other like cases, potentially mitigating the negative economic impact and safety concerns Utah is suffering as a result of the federal government’s land grab.

I am grateful to our outstanding legislators, including Mike Noel, who represents Kane County, the Kane County Commissioners and Governor Herbert for providing leadership and resources in this key states’ rights battle, and I would like to publicly thank the diligent attorneys in my office who helped make this victory possible.

Sincerely,