SB 90, the Historic Roadways Protection Act, would bar the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management, from using federal funds to finalize or implement certain travel management plans in Utah during a defined period. The bill covers a set of named travel management areas across the state, including Henry Mountains/Fremont Gorge, Dinosaur (North), Book Cliffs, Nine Mile Canyon, San Rafael Swell, Dolores River, Trail Canyon, and Paunsaugunt, and it also blocks implementation of several specific plans such as Indian Creek (Canyon Rims), San Rafael Desert, San Rafael Swell, and Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges.
The funding restriction would remain in place until the Secretary certifies to Congress that all listed R.S. 2477 cases have been adjudicated. Those cases are long-running lawsuits involving Utah counties and the State of Utah against the United States over historic roadway rights-of-way. In practical terms, the bill would freeze federal action on new or pending travel management decisions in the affected areas until the underlying road-rights litigation is resolved.
Impact
The bill would temporarily limit the Department of the Interior and BLM’s ability to spend federal funds on travel management planning and implementation on specified federal lands in Utah. It does not directly change state law, but it would constrain federal land-management authority and delay or suspend enforcement of certain route closures, designations, or access restrictions in the covered areas. The measure is tied to the resolution of R.S. 2477 litigation, making the status of those court cases the trigger for when the spending prohibition ends.
Sentiment
The available legislative history suggests generally favorable treatment in committee, as the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered the bill to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably. No recorded votes or hearing transcripts were provided, so there is no direct evidence of broader floor-level support or opposition in the materials supplied. The bill’s title and structure indicate it is framed as a protection of historic road access, which is likely to resonate with supporters of county and local access interests in Utah.
Contention
The main point of contention is the balance between preserving historic roadway access and allowing federal land managers to complete travel management plans intended to regulate use, protect resources, or manage conflicts on public lands. Supporters are likely to include Utah’s congressional sponsors and local governments involved in the R.S. 2477 cases, while opponents would likely include Interior/BLM officials and conservation or recreation-management interests that favor implementation of the travel plans. The bill’s linkage of funding restrictions to unresolved litigation is also notable, because it effectively uses appropriations leverage to delay federal land-management actions until the courts resolve the roadway claims.
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.