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This bill would stop the Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management, from spending federal money to finish or carry out certain land travel plans in Utah for a period of time. The freeze would last until the department tells Congress that a set of long-running court cases about old road rights in Utah have all been decided. In plain terms, the bill would pause new or updated off-road and travel planning in several Utah areas while those road cases are still unresolved.
- The spending ban would apply to several named travel management areas in Utah, including places like the Henry Mountains and Fremont Gorge, Dinosaur (North), the Book Cliffs, Nine Mile Canyon, the San Rafael Swell, the Dolores River area, Trail Canyon, and Paunsaugunt.
- It would also block money for four specific plans already identified in the bill: Indian Creek (Canyon Rims), San Rafael Desert, San Rafael Swell, and Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges.
- The pause would remain in place until the Secretary of the Interior certifies to Congress that all of the listed “R.S. 2477” lawsuits have been fully resolved.
- The bill says “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior acting through the Bureau of Land Management, and it applies only to land within Utah.
Official Summaries
Historic Roadways Protection Act
This 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 In 1976, Congress repealed R.S. 2477 when it enacted the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), but FLPMA preserved rights-of-way that had been established under R.S. 2477.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.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 90 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 90
To prohibit the use of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to
finalize and implement certain travel management plans in the State of
Utah.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 14, 2025
Mr. Lee (for himself and Mr. Curtis) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the use of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to
finalize and implement certain travel management plans in the State of
Utah.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Historic Roadways Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF USE OF FUNDS TO FINALIZE AND IMPLEMENT
CERTAIN TRAVEL MANAGEMENT PLANS IN THE STATE OF UTAH.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Applicable period.--The term ``applicable period''
means the period that begins on the date of enactment of this
Act and ends on the date on which the Secretary certifies to
Congress that each of the R.S. 2477 cases has been adjudicated.
(2) Covered travel management area.--The term ``covered
travel management area'' means any of the following travel
management areas in the State of Utah:
(A) The Henry Mountains and Fremont Gorge Travel
Management Area.
(B) The Dinosaur (North) Travel Management Area.
(C) The Book Cliffs Travel Management Area (Vernal
Field Office).
(D) The Nine Mile Canyon Travel Management Area
(Vernal Field Office).
(E) The San Rafael Swell Travel Management Area.
(F) The Nine Mile Canyon Travel Management Area
(Price Field Office).
(G) The Book Cliffs Travel Management Area (Moab
Field Office).
(H) The Dolores River Travel Management Area.
(I) The Trail Canyon Travel Management Area.
(J) The Paunsaugunt Travel Management Area.
(3) R.S. 2477 case.--The term ``R.S. 2477 case'' means each
of--
(A) Beaver County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-423-CW);
(B) Box Elder County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 1:12-cv-105-DB);
(C) Carbon County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-427-DB);
(D) Daggett County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-447-RJS);
(E) Duchesne County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-425-CW);
(F) Emery County and State of Utah v. United States
(Case No. 2:12-cv-429-CW);
(G) Garfield County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-478-TC);
(H) Grand County and State of Utah v. United States
(Case No. 2:12-cv-466-DN);
(I) Iron County and State of Utah v. United States
(Case No. 2:12-cv-472-BSJ);
(J) Juab County and State of Utah v. United States
(Case No. 2:12-cv-462-DB);
(K) Kane County and State of Utah v. United States
(Case No. 2:12-cv-1073-CW) (consolidated with Case No.
2:11-cv-1031-CW; Case No. 2:12-cv-476-CW).
(L) Millard County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-451-DB);
(M) Piute County and State of Utah v. United States
(Case No. 2:12-cv-428-CW);
(N) Rich County and State of Utah v. United States
(Case No. 2:12-cv-424-DN);
(O) San Juan County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-467-DAK);
(P) Sanpete County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-430-DB);
(Q) Sevier County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-452-DN);
(R) Tooele County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-477-CW);
(S) Uintah County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-461-DAK);
(T) Utah County and State of Utah v. United States
(Case No. 2:12-cv-426-CW);
(U) Washington County and State of Utah v. United
States (Case No. 2:12-cv-471-RJS); and
(V) Wayne County and State of Utah v. United States
(Case No. 2:12-cv-434-DN).
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of
Land Management.
(b) Prohibition on Use of Funds by the Secretary of the Interior to
Finalize and Implement Certain Travel Management Plans.--During the
applicable period, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Secretary may not obligate or expend Federal funds--
(1) to finalize or implement, with respect to land within
the boundary of the State of Utah, a new travel management plan
for a covered travel management area; or
(2) to implement, with respect to land within the boundary
of the State of Utah--
(A) the Indian Creek (Canyon Rims) Travel
Management Plan;
(B) the San Rafael Desert Travel Management Plan;
(C) the San Rafael Swell Travel Management Plan; or
(D) the Labyrinth/Gemini Bridges Travel Management
Plan.
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