Land use issue references, from the Pirate4x4 forum Options

[Denise]

Here is a link to Pirate4x4 Forums "Land Use Issues" topic.
There are some great website links listed here, and some websites from the dark side.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14359

[59er]

59'er,

Is it a RS2477 Road or not?, you state the Original Mining Company blasted.....are you sure you gained possessor of right with your transfer?.

Dave, no it is most definitely not an RS2477 road. The original miners patented in the 1870s before there were any roads in the area, at least according to the official maps from the state surveyor. I've learned quite a bit about this having fought the legal battle. Once the claims are fee title, the county can't get a right of way unless they condemn, which they never did. To do this under RS 2477 they must prove that the road pre-existed the patents, which they can't do, because it didn't (at least not according to the official state maps). The ORV people don't seem to care about all this and their argument is that if there is a road across mining land it must be a public road and they have a right to use it. Problem is when we gave permission they started making new roads off to the sides and when the rock crawlers came in they started going up the hillsides and really made a mess of the place. Since this whole thread started with pirate4x4 you should have a look at that site and see what their attitude really is. Here's a good example regarding another private mining road.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337156

It seems like the people on the Pirate4x4 forum are saying that it looks like a good road therefore it must be public, when in fact it is maintained by a mining company for their own use and that company decided (like me) to not allow recreational users to use it any more.