RELATING TO HIGHWAYS AND FEDERAL LAND RIGHTS OF WAY; EXPRESSING LEGISLATIVE Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: AND SECTION 1. STATEMENT OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT. The State of Idaho recognizes that existing federal land rights of way are extremely important to all of Idaho's citizens. Two-thirds of Idaho's land is under control of the federal government and access to such federal lands is integral to public use. The Idaho State Legislature recognizes the necessity for establishing a procedure for identifying and confirming the existence of previously established federal rights of way, to protect those rights previously granted to and vested in, the citizens of Idaho. SECTION 2. That Section 40-107, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended to read as follows: 40-107. DEFINITIONS -- F. (1) "Facilities" mean tracks, pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, towers, poles, equipment and appliances. (2) "Family" means two (2) or more persons living together in the same dwelling unit who are related to each other by blood, marriage, adoption or legal guardianship. (3) "Farm operation" means any activity conducted primarily for the production of agricultural products or commodities, including timber, for sale and home use, and producing agricultural products or commodities in sufficient quantity to contribute materially to the operator's support. (4) "Feeder highway" means any highway which, in the opinion of the transportation board, is needed to create or facilitate access to a turnpike project upon which a toll is charged for transit. (5) "Federal land rights of way" mean rights of way on federal land within the context of Revised Statute 2477, codified as 43 United States Code 932, and other federal access grants and shall be considered to be any road, trail, access or way upon which construction has been carried out to the standard in which public rights of way were built within historic context. These rights of way may include, but not be limited to, horse paths, cattle trails. irrigation canals, waterways, ditches, pipelines or other means of water transmission and their attendant access for maintenance, wagon roads, Jeep trails, logging roads, homestead roads, mine to market roads and all other 7 2 SECTION 3. That Chapter 2, Title 40, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and designated as Section 40-204A, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 40-204A. FEDERAL LAND RIGHTS OF WAY. (1) The state recognizes that the act of construction and first use constitute the acceptance of the grant given to the public for federal land rights of way, and that once acceptance of the grant has been established, the grant shall be for the perpetual term granted by the congress of the United States. (2) The only method for the abandonment of these rights of way shall be that of eminent domain proceedings in which the taking of the public's right to access shall be justly compensated. Neither the mere passage of time nor the frequency of use shall be considered a justification for considering these rights of way to have been abandoned. (3) All of the said rights of way shall be shown by some form of documentation to have existed prior to the withdrawal of the federal grant in 1976 or to predate the removal of land through which they transit from the public domain for other public purposes. Documentation shall take the form of at least a map, and an affidavit. Surveys, books and other historic information may also be included. (4) These rights of way shall not require maintenance for the passage of vehicular traffic, nor shall any liability be incurred for injury or damage through a failure to maintain the access or to maintain any highway sign. These rights of way shall be traveled at the risk of the user and may be maintained by the public through usage by the public. (5) Any member of the public, the state of Idaho and any of its political subdivisions, and any agency of the federal government may choose to seek validation of its rights under law to use granted rights of way either through a process set forth by the state of Idaho, through processes set forth by any federal agency or by proclamation of user rights granted under the provisions of the original act, Revised Statute 2477. These rights of way shall not be required to possess centerline surveys typical of publicly maintained roads, but shall be surveyed prior to being accepted into the maintained public highway system. Neither the granting of the original right of way nor any provision in this or any other state act shall be construed as a relinquishment of either federal ownership or management of the surface estate of the property over which the right of way passes. (6) Persons seeking acknowledgement of federal land rights of way shall file with the county recorder the request for acknowledgement and for any supporting documentation. The county recorder shall place the jacknowledgement on the official county road system map. SECTION 4. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its passage and approval. Fury-second Legislature LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO First Regular Sannico –– 1993 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 6 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE A JOINT MEMORIAL TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN CONGRESS We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the State of Idaho assembled in the First Regular Session of the Fifty-second Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that: WHEREAS, western United States territories, before and after joining the Union of States, presented unique transportation and settlement challenges with little or no governmental oversight; and WHEREAS, the 1800's saw this western settlement occur with sometimes unor ganized surges of immigrants who had no governmental authority to guide them in the establishment of roads, schools, village boundaries, township lines and related infrastructure; and WHEREAS, economic opportunities attracted thousands of settlers who cra~ varsed the lands in search of gold and other minerals, furs and homesteads and who caused to be constructed roads, paths and trails for the common use; and WHEREAS, Congress in 1866 amended the mining law in order Со recognize legal rights-of-way for those roads, paths and trails by adding Section 2477, commonly referred to as Revised Statute 2477; and WHEREAS, many of the surface trails for horses, dog teams and nan became permanent transportation links between settlements; and WHEREAS, the phases of exploration, settlement and transportation did occur concurrently, in intervening years, and in current times in Alaska and other western states where the Revised Statute 2477 grants are still applicable; and WHEREAS, there is a growing threat to surface access to private "inholding" properties in some conservation units, certain national parks and wildlife designations, and in other federal land withdrawals; and WHEREAS, there are increased efforts to pressure Congreps to extinguish the Revised Statute 2477 authorization and grants. of NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the first Regular Session the Fifty-second Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the Senate concurring therein, that we urge Congress to recognize its legal and historie commitment, under Revised Statute 2477, to rights-of-way access to unreserved, or formerly unreserved, public lands. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clark of the House of Representa tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this Memorial to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress, and the congressional delegation · representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States. Arizona Colorado • Idaho National Audubon Society ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONAL OFFICE 4150 DARLEY, SUITE 5, BOULDER, COLORADO 80303 (303) 499-0219 7 June 1993 Honorable Bruce F. Vento Chairman Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands House Annex 1 - Room 812 Washington, DC 20515 Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter is submitted for inclusion in the record of the hearing on H.R. 1603, a bill authorizing appropriations for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The National Audubon Society supports the Chairman's efforts to improve the management of public lands. We very much like the tone of this legislation, and are pleased at the intent to protect such resources as biodiversity, plant communities, native species and communities, and riparian areas. Some aspects of H.R. 1603 are especially important to Audubon, and the following comments highlight those areas: Sec. 3(a) Areas of Critical Environmental Concern The Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) designation is an important habitat conservation tool on the public lands, and we believe that the proposed definition of ACEC is an improvement over existing law. We particularly support (a)(3), which establishes that an ACEC can be designated in order to protect or enhance the resources and values of a "conservation system unit." We note in (a)(1) "that Congress does not intend that the Secretary establish protective perimeters or buffer zones around such areas" (i.e., ACECs). There may be cases, however, where special management of adjacent lands is required to fully protect resources within an ACEC. We hope that nothing in this provision precludes special management of areas adjacent to ACECs, extensions of ACECs, or land exchanges to fully protect resources within ACECs. A proposed quarry adjacent to the Jackson Canyon ACEC, which was established near Casper, Wyoming to protect wintering bald eagles, is a case in point. The proposed quarry is on state land, but AMERICANS COMMITTED TO CONSERVATION 100% Recycled Paper H.R. 1603 2 the BLM is being urged to arrange a land exchange to give the state appropriate lands at a location where eagles using the ACEC would not be threatened or disturbed. Sec. 4. Major Uses and Inventories In paragraph (a), we recommend adding migratory bird habitats to the list of major uses. For example, (1) could be amended as follows: "maintenance of fish and wildlife populations and habitats, including for migratory birds,..." The Secretary of the Department of the Interior, on behalf of the U.S. Government, is charged with implementation of at least five international conventions and several domestic laws related to the protection of migratory birds and their habitats (e.g., migratory bird treaties with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia; Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere; and Section 13 of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act). Although traditionally the U.S. Fish and Wildlife is the agency that has carried out most actions under these agreements, the responsibilities are department and government wide. The status and management of public lands is enormously important to the conservation of migratory birds in western states, Alaska, and even in eastern states (see below). Explicit recognition of the need to protect migratory bird habitats will encourage and assist BLM in developing and executing management plans that protect the full range of natural resources dependent on public lands. Sec. 5. Planning Requirements Under Section 5(a) Deadlines, Audubon strongly supports the language requiring completion of land use plans for all public lands outside of Alaska no later than January 1, 1998. We recently requested information from BLM on the status and management of some 30,000 acres of public lands in eastern states that, according to the BLM "Nongame Migratory Bird Habitat Conservation Plan" (p. 5), may provide "immeasurable value to nongame birds during migration. Unfortunately, we discovered that BLM apparently does not know how many acres of land it actually owns in eastern states and, therefore, there is little management for or protection of migratory bird populations and habitats on these areas. Rapid completion of land use plans for all public lands, including those in eastern states, is essential if BLM is to maintain, much less improve, its stewardship of natural resources. Under Section 5(b) Criteria, we commend the Chairman for addition of "riparian areas" as a priority in the development and revision of land use plans. As recommended above for the definition of major uses, we suggest adding the phrase, |