Utah stakes claim to Recapture Canyon citing repealed frontier-era law

The state of Utah has added a 9.22-mile "road" through Recapture Canyon to a list of 12,000 routes it is seeking to wrest from federal ownership. The archaeologically rich canyon outside Blanding, which federal authorities closed to motorized use eight years ago, was the scene of the 2014 ATV protest ride that resulted in the criminal convictions of San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman and Monticello City Council member Monte Wells. In a letter Wednesday to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, state officials say the state enjoys a "right-of-way" through the canyon under the repealed frontier-era law known as RS 2477. The law allows Western counties to claim title to routes over public lands if they can demonstrate 10 years of continuous use prior to the law's repeal in 1976. "The Recapture Canyon right-of-way is a small but important piece of the transportation system and economy of the State of Utah and San Juan County," wrote Kathleen Clarke, director of the Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office. The claimed route stretches from Recapture Dam south to Perkins Road. Clarke's letter does not elaborate on the basis of the claim, but Lyman's supporters have argued that the canyon served as a historic thoroughfare between Monticello and Bluff and a conduit for cattle drives. So, the argument goes, the route should never have been closed and the protest leaders should not have been charged...more

Way to go, Utah!