If enacted, HB6396 would effectively halt the finalization and implementation of specific travel management plans, directing that federal funds may not be used for these purposes as long as the R.S. 2477 cases remain unresolved. This could have broad implications for land use and management in Utah, impacting both conservation efforts and local government operations. Supporters argue that it safeguards cultural and historical pathways, whereas opponents may contend that it limits the ability of the federal government to manage public lands effectively.
Summary
House Bill 6396, titled the Historic Roadways Protection Act, seeks to prohibit the use of federal funds by the Secretary of the Interior to finalize and implement certain travel management plans in designated areas of Utah. The bill specifies several travel management areas, including the Henry Mountains, Nine Mile Canyon, and the San Rafael Swell, among others. The aim of the legislation is to protect these travel management areas from federal actions that may alter their current management and resource deployment significantly before legal disputes over rights of way under R.S. 2477 are resolved.
Contention
The bill invites both support and opposition due to its potential impact on land management in Utah. Proponents argue that this measure is essential to protect historic roadways and local governance over land management concerns. Conversely, critics might argue that it undermines the federal government's role in overseeing land use, potentially stalling essential conservation and management strategies in these areas. Notably, the prohibition on federal funding could lead to delays in critical updates to travel management policies that adapt to environmental and usage changes.
Historic Roadways Protection ActThis bill prohibits the Bureau for Land Management (BLM) from closing historical roads on public lands in certain areas of Utah until the Federal District Court for Utah makes a decision on each of the R.S. 2477 cases, which are cases brought by Utah and counties to keep historical roads on BLM land in Utah open for public use.By way of background, a provision of the Mining Law of 1866, commonly known as R.S. 2477, granted rights-of-way to states and counties across public lands for the construction of roads for public use in order to promote settlement of the American West. In 1976, Congress repealed R.S. 2477 when it enacted the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), but FLPMA preserved rights-of-way that had been established under R.S. 2477. After the BLM released travel management plans that closed some historical roads, Utah and 22 counties filed lawsuits about their rights-of-way across public lands for historical roads.Until the BLM certifies that those cases have been decided, the bill prohibits the BLM from obligating or expending federal funds to (1) finalize or implement a new travel management plan for certain travel management areas in Utah; or (2) implement, with respect to land within the boundary of Utah, the Indian Creek (Canyon Rims) Travel Management Plan, the San Rafael Desert Travel Management Plan, the San Rafael Swell Travel Management Plan, or the Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Plan.