Court Rules Against Utah Counties in Battle over Roads in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Utah’s Kane and Garfield Counties lost another round in their seemingly endless quest to claim control of public lands in southern Utah.  The most recent loss was handed down by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals when it ruled on April 13 that the counties, which are seeking ownership of various trails that cross federal lands in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, must take their road claims to federal court; the counties cannot sidestep the legal process by trying to force BLM to make these ownership decisions.  But even then, as this editorial in the Salt Lake Tribune noted, maybe it's time “for Kane and Garfield counties to quit wasting Utah taxpayers’ money chasing a court ruling they have been repeatedly denied.”