Trouble near Boulder, Jeepers trying to claim private road Options

[59er]

Heads up: the Denver metro area Jeep clubs are attempting to claim that another private mining road is public for their joy rides and other entertainment. The miner that owns it has been experiencing vandalism and closed it to the vandals. Recent article in the Times-Call:

http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?id=7779

Here is a forum where the off-road clubs are debating whether or not to respect the owner's right to close his property:

http://colorado4x4.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=65365

This is happening alot in the front range where new uses are clashing with traditional uses.

[59er]

Jerry,

Not any road built between 1866 and 1976 is public. RS 2477 onlly applies to roads built on public land not reserved for public uses. Roads build on private property are not covered by RS 2477, nor are roads build on National Forest land after the U.S. Forest Service was established.

One of the major points of confiict is the question of who has the burden of proof. It's real easy to say that a road is public because it was built, say, in 1876. But how do you prove when a road was built (or on the flip side, how do you prove a road WASN'T built on that date)?

Difficult and often something only a judge can decide.