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RS 2477 and Private Property

Slideshow of Moffat County Claims

Private Property Issues Associated with RS 2477

Background:

While R.S. 2477 granted rights for highway construction across unreserved public lands, it applies to hundreds of thousands of acres of private lands that were once public and later became private under the Homestead Act or mining law provisions. Adopting loose standards for what constitutes a "constructed highway" under R.S. 2477 will make it easier for counties or others to press for highways over private lands. Some Colorado and Utah private landowners have already had gates ripped down, and suffered trespass by those claiming rights-of-way.

The Chamberlin Family's Home, Boulder, CO.

In the late 1990s, Ms. AJ Chamberlin and her family purchased a vacant lot in the mountains west of Boulder, Colorado. The land they bought was not subject to any easements or recorded rights-of-way, and no County roads crossed the property. Neither the County nor any other person maintained any routes through or across the property. The Chamberlins built their home on the vacant land and they now live in the home year-round.

To the family's surprise, some recreation users claim that a 19th Century mining path runs through the property, and that R.S. 2477 gives anyone the right to use it. These users have ignored "No Trespassing" signs on the Chamberlin's property and illegally cross the land at all times of the day. The trespassers have also torn down and defaced signs. Neighbors have suffered abuse for restricting access across their private land: trespassers killed one neighbor's dog and smashed the window of another neighbor's car. The recreation users have also threatened to bring lawsuits to turn the Chamberlin's driveway into a jeep trail with access by the general public.

The trespassing and proposals to put access through their private property has damaged the Chamberlin family's enjoyment of the property, as well as its economic value. You can also read an opinion piece written by Ms. Chamberlin which was printed in the Rocky Mountain New in April of 2004. For more information, contact: Ms. AJ Chamberlin.

The Smith Family Home, Kanab, Utah.

In 1976, the Smith family bought land-approximately 1,000 acres-from a rancher who had purchased the land from BLM in the 1960s. The family returned home one day in 1999 to find the Kane County attorney and road crew supervisor cutting the bolts off their gate and tearing down their "No Trespassing" signs. The County officials opened the gates and declared the property an RS 2477 highway. Since that time, the family and County have gone back and forth, closing the gates and cutting off the locks. Despite these tussles, there has not been a formal resolution to this situation.

During the times when the County has cut the locks and opened the gate to the Smith's private property, off-road vehicles have trespassed on the land. The family had purchased the ranch with the intention of rehabilitating the environmental damage that occurred during the days when the property was a working ranch. Unfortunately, the County encouraged illegal ORV use has led to additional degradation of the property, including new tracks and soil erosion.

The Elrick-Boslough Ranch, Boulder County, Colorado.

Maya Elrick's family has owned a ranch next to Balarat Creek in Boulder County, Colorado for more than 40 years. Over the last decade, her husband, Mark Boslough, purchased a number of patented mining claims along the creek. A 1.5 mile pedestrian trail (known as the "Barking Dog Trail") followed the route of a private drive that had been built with private funds across the private property by a previous owner. The Bosloughs invited hikers across the property, but posted signs to keep motorized vehicles out. The trail was never shown on any maps prior to the 1957 and there is no recorded easement or right-of-way for a public highway at the trail-site.

Balarat Creek Ranch is a family-owned ranch near Boulder. Off-roaders claim a trail through this creek is an R.S. 2477 "constructed highway." Photo courtesy of Mark Boslough

In the 1990s, organized jeep clubs began trespassing on the Barking Dog Trail, driving through the creek, destroying vegetation, and dumping oil into the stream. Mr. Boslough closed the trailhead to further motorized trespassing with physical barriers. On June 25, 2000, a group of vandals in jeeps trespassed on the trail, removed obstructions, tore down signs, spray-painted rocks, and purposefully ripped out seedling trees and shrubs that Mr. Boslough (working with the local soil conservation district) had recently spent hundreds of dollars planting as part of a watershed restoration project. Vernon Brandt, a member of the Trailridge Runners 4WD Club and representative of the Mile-Hi Jeep Club, has posted threatening emails on a website; others have tried to intimidate the Boslough family even threatening lynching. This year, Mr. Brandt has solicited funds to obtain heavy equipment to bulldoze through the private property sometime in the near future.

The off-road vehicle users claim that their violation of private property is justified because the Barking Dog Trail is open as a public highway under RS 2477. They make this allegation despite the fact that county records, historic maps, and statements by prior property owners clearly demonstrate the trail was never constructed over public land (a requirement for a R.S. 2477 right-of-way to exist). Unfortunately, despite the bogus nature of their claims, the very existence of RS 2477 has emboldened the off-road vehicle users in this area to trespass and destroy private lands. For more information, contact Mark Boslough, or visit Mark's website.

More Information

An organization of property owners has been formed in Colorado to take on the threat of the R.S. 2477 issue and protect private property rights. Property Owners for Sensible Road Policy calls for a fair, timely and national solution.