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BLM DIRECTOR’S 1990 MEMO EXPANDING ON INTERIOR SECRETARY HODEL’S 1988 POLICY STATEMENT ON RS 2477 MANAGEMENT
This memo expands on the 1988 Policy Statement of Interior Secretary Donald Hodel on RS 2477 rights-of-way. It gives the State Directors (SD’s) of the BLM more specific examples and interpretations of that policy statement. Like the Hodel memo, it is of value both because it reflects the long-standing position of the BLM in dealing…
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Basic Truths About RS 2477 Rights-of-Way
Determine If You Are Being Misled or Lied To! The attention given to RS 2477 rights-of-way has been accompanied by misinformation spread by anti-access environmental groups and federal bureaucrats. Sometimes this is due to misunderstanding the issue. Often, however, it is a deliberate effort to deceive. The following are the fundamental facts about RS 2477.…
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SETTLED PRECEDENT ON R.S. 2477 | QUOTES FROM COURT DECISIONS AND LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Revised Statutes 2477 (R.S. 2477) states, in its entirety: “Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the right of way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted.” 8 of the Act of July 26, 1866, 14 Stat. 253, later codified at 43 U.S.C. 932. This…
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TEXT OF INTERIOR SECRETARY DONALD HODEL’ S 1988 MEMO ON RS 2477
This is the text of the memorandum approved by Interior Secretary Donald Hodel in 1988. It is significant for two reasons. First, it summarizes the status of RS 2477 interactions with the public lands states and counties and reflects both past administrative actions and many court decisions. Second, as such, it illustrates how extreme the…
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Common RS 2477 myths refuted
Opponents of public access to the public lands–primarily environmental activists but also some federal bureaucrats who find RS 2477 rights-of-way “inconvenient”–are actively spreading myths and misinformation about RS 2477. Some of the most common are reproduced here along with the truth.
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An RS 2477 Primer | A brief analysis of a one sentence law
RS 2477 (which is an abbreviation of “Revised Statutes 2477”) was passed in 1866 and is a very short law, only one sentence long. It states, in its entirety, that “the right-of-way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted.” Defining some of the terms and phrases…
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A brief explanation of RS 2477
RS 2477 is a statute adopted in 1866 to facilitate the settlement of the West by encouraging the development of a system of roads and trails. The name “RS 2477” is an abbreviation of “Revised Statute 2477.” That name, in turn, comes from the placement of the original law in a reorganized version of the…
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TEN ESSENTIAL POINTS CONCERNING R.S. 2477 RIGHTS-OF-WAY
I. UNDER R.S. 2477 CONGRESS OFFERED A SELF-EXECUTING GRANT OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 3 II. PERFECTED R.S. 2477 RIGHTS#2 VESTED AS PROPERTY RIGHTS. 5 III. STATE LAW PROVIDES THE BASIS FOR DETERMINATION OF THE EXISTENCE AND SCOPE OF R.S. 2477 RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 6 IV. ALL VALID EXISTING R.S. 2477 RIGHTS-OF-WAY WERE PERFECTED NO LATER THAN THE REPEAL OF…