I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1639
To provide a means of resolving claims regarding the continued existence 
of rights-of-way under former section 2477 of the Revised Statutes, 
which was repealed by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 3, 2003
Mr. UDALL of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To provide a means of resolving claims regarding the contin-
ued existence of rights-of-way under former section 2477 
of the Revised Statutes, which was repealed by the Fed-
eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, FINDINGS, AND PURPOSE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘R.S. 2477 Rights-of-Way Act of 2003’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 1866, to assist in the opening of the west 
for resource development and settlement, Congress
enacted a law that granted rights-of-way for the con-
struction of highways across public land not reserved 
for public uses. That law was later included in the 
Revised Statutes as section 2477 and thus became 
popularly known as R.S. 2477. 
(2) Section 706 of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 repealed R.S. 2477, but 
did not terminate valid rights-of-way existing on the 
date of the enactment of the Act. 
(3) R.S. 2477 did not require notifying the 
Federal Government regarding utilization of specific 
grants of highway rights-of-way or documentation in 
the public land records regarding claims for such 
grants. Therefore, the number and location of 
claimed highway rights-of-way under R.S. 2477 are 
unknown. However, it is estimated that potential 
claims for such rights-of-way could involve thou-
sands of square miles of Federal lands, including 
lands now included in the National Forest System, 
National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge 
System, and National Wilderness Preservation Sys-
tem. 
(4) Historically, highway rights-of-way estab-
lished under R.S. 2477 did not present many prob-
lems to Federal land managers because the existence
of highways constructed on such rights-of-way was 
obvious and unquestioned. In recent years, con-
troversies have arisen as to whether certain claimed 
routes are valid highway rights-of-way under R.S. 
2477. This causes uncertainty both for parties 
claiming to possess a property interest in such 
routes and for the agencies responsible for managing 
Federal lands. 
(5) Controversies related to claims under R.S. 
2477 have been exacerbated by the absence of uni-
form Federal standards for review of such claims 
and by court decisions that have failed to provide 
consistent guidance. In addition, some recent State 
laws, including laws adopted after the repeal of R.S. 
2477, are inconsistent with the statutory require-
ments. To address these problems, in 1992, Con-
gress directed the Secretary of the Interior to study 
the history, impacts, and status of R.S. 2477 rights-
of-way, study alternatives to such rights-of-way, and 
make recommendations for assessing claims for such 
rights-of-way. 
(6) Pursuant to this directive, officials of the 
Department of the Interior consulted with interested 
parties in the public land States and held public 
hearings in Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon, Mon-
tana, Nevada, and Utah. In addition, the Depart-
ment received and reviewed more than 4,000 pages 
of written comments. 
(7) In June, 1993, the Department of the Inte-
rior released the report of the results of its study to 
Congress. The report highlighted the need for a 
process whereby validly accepted rights-of-way could 
be recognized and administered consistently and 
fairly and recommended establishment of a uniform 
administrative procedure and standards for deter-
mining within a specified period which claimed 
rights-of-way were validly accepted under the R.S. 
2477 grant from the Federal Government. 
(8) It is in the interest of both claimants and 
Federal land managers to provide consistent, coher-
ent guidance regarding evaluation and timely resolu-
tion of claims for rights-of-way based on R.S. 2477. 
(c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to establish 
a deadline for filing of claims for highway rights-of-way 
under R.S. 2477 and to provide a process for consider-
ation and resolution of such claims. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘abandonment’’ means an inten-
tional relinquishment of a right, title, or claim to a
right-of-way pursuant to R.S. 2477, which may be 
inferred from a preponderance of the evidence show-
ing—
(A) the absence of continued public use of 
the right-of-way for highway purposes on and 
after the latest available date; 
(B) the failure of the claimant to perform 
lawful routine maintenance on the right-of-way 
since the latest available date; or 
(C) other conduct by the claimant incon-
sistent with the use of the right-of-way by high-
way traffic. 
(2) The term ‘‘appropriate Federal agency’’ 
means any Federal agency having management ju-
risdiction over lands owned or controlled by the 
United States upon which a R.S. 2477 right-of-way 
is claimed to exist. 
(3) The term ‘‘authorized officer’’ means—
(A) the Secretary of the Federal Depart-
ment having management jurisdiction over 
lands owned or controlled by the United States 
upon which the longest lineal portion of a R.S. 
2477 right-of-way is claimed to exist or that 
Secretary’s designee in the Federal agency hav-
ing management jurisdiction over such lands; or
(B) with respect to a claim involving 
former Federal lands, the Secretary of the Inte-
rior or that Secretary’s designee. 
(4) The term ‘‘claim’’ means the appropriate 
documentation filed under section 3 asserting the ex-
istence of, and a property interest in, a right-of-way 
pursuant to R.S. 2477. 
(5) The term ‘‘claimant’’ means any State, po-
litical subdivision of a State, or any other person as-
serting the existence and validity of a right-of-way 
pursuant to R.S. 2477, except a person who, as of 
the date of enactment of this Act, was barred from 
bringing a civil action against the United States 
under section 2409a of title 28, United States Code, 
to adjudicate the title to the relevant lands. 
(6) The term ‘‘conservation system unit’’ 
means—
(A) a unit of the National Park System; 
(B) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge 
System; 
(C) a component of the National Wild and 
Scenic Rivers System; 
(D) a component of the National Trails 
System;
(E) a component of the National Wilder-
ness Preservation System; 
(F) a National Monument; or 
(G) any part of the National Landscape 
Conservation System. 
(7) The term ‘‘construction’’ means an inten-
tional physical act or series of intentional physical 
acts that were intended to prepare, and that accom-
plished preparation of, a highway by a durable, ob-
servable, physical modification of the land along the 
entire claimed route to facilitate the safe and effi-
cient passage of four-wheeled highway vehicles. 
(8) The term ‘‘former Federal lands’’ means 
lands title to which has passed from the United 
States to another owner. 
(9) The term ‘‘highway’’ means a thoroughfare 
along a specific identified route that, prior to the 
latest available date, was used by the public, without 
discrimination against any individual or group, for 
the passage of four-wheeled highway vehicles car-
rying people or goods from one inhabited place to 
another inhabited place. 
(10) The term ‘‘inventoried roadless area’’ 
means one of the areas identified in the set of inven-
toried roadless areas maps contained in the Forest
Service Roadless Areas Conservation, Final Environ-
mental Impact Statement, Volume 2, dated Novem-
ber 2000. 
(11) The term ‘‘latest available date’’ means 
the latest date on which a right-of-way pursuant to 
R.S. 2477 could have been acquired, which shall be 
prior to—
(A) October 21, 1976, in the case of lands 
that were unreserved public lands as of that 
date; or 
(B) the date the public lands were reserved 
for public uses (such as date of withdrawal 
from entry or designation of public use by stat-
ute, Presidential Proclamation or Executive 
Order, Secretarial Order, or administrative de-
cision) in the case of public lands reserved for 
public uses before October 21, 1976. 
(12) The terms ‘‘public lands not reserved for 
public uses’’ and ‘‘unreserved public lands’’ means 
lands owned by the United States that were avail-
able and open to the public under various public 
land laws that provided for disposition to the public, 
but lands that had not yet been set aside, dedicated, 
withdrawn, reserved, settled, preempted, entered, ap-
propriated, or disposed of, or on which claims had 
not been located. 
(13) The term ‘‘R.S. 2477’’ means section 2477 
of the Revised Statutes, which was codified as sec-
tion 932 of title 43, United States Code, prior to its 
repeal by section 706 of the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act of 1976 (Public Law 94–579; 
90 Stat. 2793). 
(14) The term ‘‘wilderness study area’’ means 
Federal land identified as having wilderness charac-
teristics in a land and resources management plan 
for a unit of the National Forest System or public 
lands being managed pursuant to the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
1701 et seq.) so as not to impair their suitability for 
preservation as wilderness through inclusion in the 
National Wilderness Preservation System. 
SEC. 3. FILING OF CLAIM FOR DETERMINATION OF VALID-
ITY OF R.S. 2477 RIGHT-OF-WAY. 
(a) OPPORTUNITY
TO FILE CLAIM.—During the 
four-year period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act, a claimant asserting the existence and validity 
of a right-of-way pursuant to R.S. 2477 across lands 
owned or controlled by the United States or former Fed-
eral lands may file a claim to that effect pursuant to this 
section. 
(b) PLACE OF FILING.—
(1) GENERAL RULE.—A claimant shall file the 
claim in the State or regional office of each appro-
priate Federal agency having management jurisdic-
tion over lands upon which the R.S. 2477 right-of-
way is claimed to exist. 
(2) DEFENSE LANDS.—In the case of a claimed 
R.S. 2477 right-of-way across lands owned or con-
trolled by the Department of Defense, the claim 
shall be filed with the commanding officer of the 
military installation having real property account-
ability for such lands. 
(3) FORMER FEDERAL LANDS.—In the case of 
a claim involving former Federal lands, the claim 
shall be filed with the relevant State office of the 
Bureau of Land Management and a notice of the 
claim shall be provided to the current owner of 
record of the lands. 
(c) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO MEET FILING DEAD-
LINE OR REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) ABANDONMENT.—The failure of a claimant 
to timely file a claim under subsection (a) or with 
the appropriate Federal agencies under subsection
(b) shall be deemed to constitute an abandonment 
and a relinquishment of any rights purported to 
have been acquired under R.S. 2477 related to that 
claim. 
(2) DETERMINATION
AND
NOTIFICATION.—If 
the authorized officer determines that a claimant 
has not met the filing deadline or the other filing re-
quirements, the authorized officer shall notify the 
claimant and all other parties of record in writing 
and shall notify each appropriate Federal agency 
that no further action on the claim is required. The 
determination of the authorized officer shall con-
stitute final agency action, subject to review in the 
United States District Court for the District of Co-
lumbia or the United States District Court in the 
district within which the longest lineal portion of the 
claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-way lies. 
(3) FILING.—Any action initiated in district 
court pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be filed not 
later than three years after the date of the written 
notice to the claimant from the authorized officer. 
(4) LIMITED
JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—Judicial re-
view of a determination of an authorized officer 
under paragraph (2) shall be limited to a review of 
the administrative record.
(d) COORDINATION AMONG APPROPRIATE FEDERAL 
AGENCIES.—In the review and processing of a valid claim 
under section 4, the authorized officer shall be responsible 
for coordinating with each appropriate Federal agency 
subject to the claim. 
(e) LIMITATION.—Except with regard to a claim filed 
pursuant to this Act during the period specified in sub-
section (a), no officer, agency, or court of the United 
States shall take any action to affirm the validity of any 
assertion that any person or entity other than the United 
States has a property interest in a right-of-way pursuant 
to R.S. 2477. 
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE DETERMINATION OF VALIDITY OF 
R.S. 2477 RIGHT-OF-WAY CLAIM. 
(a) BURDEN OF PROOF.—
(1) BURDEN ON CLAIMANT.—A claimant shall 
have the burden to prove that the grant of a right-
of-way pursuant to R.S. 2477 was validly accepted 
and not abandoned. 
(2) PRESUMPTION.—Any claim or portion of a 
claim involving lands that, as of the filing of the 
claim, are within a conservation system unit, an 
inventoried roadless area, or a wilderness study area 
or are former Federal lands shall be presumed to 
have been abandoned on the date on which the lands
became part of the conservation unit or inventoried 
roadless area, became subject to management as a 
wilderness study area, or became former Federal 
lands (whichever applies) unless the claiment estab-
lishes, by clear and convincing evidence, that routine 
lawful maintenance and use of the lands for highway 
purposes on and after that date were so open and 
notorious that management of such lands by the 
United States or the transfer of ownership by the 
United States was intended to be subject to continu-
ation of the use of the lands for highway purposes. 
(b) CONTENTS OF CLAIM.—A claim shall contain suf-
ficient information to permit the authorized officer to de-
termine whether each element of R.S. 2477 was met. At 
a minimum, the claim shall contain the following: 
(1) The name, affiliation, address, phone num-
ber (and facsimile number if available) of the claim-
ant. 
(2) The names, affiliations, addresses, phone 
numbers (and facsimile numbers if available) of all 
persons or entities with property interests in land 
over which the claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-way lies. 
(3) Proof of notification of the claim to all such 
persons and entities.
(4) Identification of the entity that would have 
a property interest in the claimed R.S. 2477 right-
of-way. 
(5) A description of the highway on which the 
claim is based, including identification of the high-
way on an official State or local map, if available, 
the name and number of the highway, if available, 
beginning and ending points, a center-line survey 
conducted in accordance with the Bureau of Land 
Management Manual of Surveying Instructions 
(1973), type of surface, and width. 
(6) Evidence of construction of the highway, in-
cluding evidence of use of tools and of expenditures 
for highway construction. 
(7) Evidence that the claimed route is a high-
way, including evidence of routine maintenance by a 
State or local government public highway manage-
ment agency and of public vehicular use. 
(8) A statement of whether any photographs, 
profiles, constructions, as-built or similar detail 
maps or diagrams of the right-of-way, are available 
and, if so, where such material may be viewed or 
copies obtained. 
(9) If the right-of-way has been the subject of 
a prior judicial or administrative determination, the
Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)) that own or control lands af-
fected by the claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-way. 
(2) NONSTATE CLAIMS.—In conducting the re-
view of a claim brought by a claimant other than a 
State or political subdivision thereof, the authorized 
officer shall consult with each State and political 
subdivision thereof within which lands affected by 
the claim are located. 
(e) DRAFT ADMINISTRATIVE DETERMINATION.—
(1) PREPARATION OF DRAFT.—After review of 
all the evidence submitted with respect to a claim, 
review of Bureau of Land Management official pub-
lic land records, consultation under subsection (d), 
and concurrence by the appropriate Federal agen-
cies, the authorized officer shall prepare a draft ad-
ministrative determination regarding the claim. 
(2) PROPOSED FINDINGS.—The draft adminis-
trative determination shall include proposed findings 
regarding the following: 
(A) Whether the grant of the right-of-way 
pursuant to R.S. 2477 over public lands not re-
served for public uses was validly accepted prior 
to the latest available date. 
(B) If the grant of the R.S. 2477 right-of-
way over public lands not reserved for public
uses was validly accepted prior to the latest 
available date, whether the R.S. 2477 right-of-
way was subject to abandonment by the claim-
ant. 
(C) If the grant of the R.S. 2477 right-of-
way over public lands not reserved for public 
uses was validly accepted prior to the latest 
available date and was not subject to abandon-
ment, a description of the accepted right-of-
way, including its width, type of surface, and 
the route between the beginning and ending 
points of the right-of-way, as of the latest avail-
able date. 
(3) SUBMISSION.—The authorized officer shall 
submit the draft administrative determination to the 
claimant and publish a notice of the draft adminis-
trative determination in a newspaper of general dis-
tribution in the vicinity of the claim and in the Fed-
eral Register. The notice shall request public com-
ment only on the draft administrative determination. 
The public comment period shall last for a minimum 
of 60 days. 
(f) FINAL ADMINISTRATIVE DETERMINATION.—
(1) REVIEW, CONSULTATION, AND
PREPARA-
TION.—Within one year after the date of publication
of the notice of the draft administrative determina-
tion in the Federal Register, the authorized officer 
shall review the public comment, if any, and shall 
consult with each appropriate Federal agency. Upon 
concurrence by each appropriate Federal agency, the 
authorized officer shall prepare the final administra-
tive determination. 
(2) FINDINGS.—The final administrative deter-
mination shall include the same findings required 
under subsection (e)(2). 
(3) SUBMISSION.—The authorized officer shall 
submit the final administrative determination to the 
claimant and publish a notice of the final adminis-
trative determination in the Federal Register. 
(g) FINAL AGENCY ACTION; REVIEW.—
(1) AVAILABILITY
OF
JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—A 
final administrative determination made pursuant to 
subsection (f) shall constitute final agency action 
subject to review in the United States District Court 
for the District of Columbia or the United States 
District Court in the district within which the long-
est lineal portion of the claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-
way lies. 
(2) FILING.—Any action initiated in district 
court pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be filed not
later than three years after the date of the publica-
tion in the Federal Register of the notice of the final 
administrative determination. 
(3) LIMITED
JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—Judicial re-
view of a final administrative determination shall be 
limited to a review of the administrative record. 
(4) ELECTION TO ACQUIRE.—If judicial review 
of an administrative determination results in a de-
termination that the grant of a right-of-way pursu-
ant to R.S. 2477 was validly accepted and not aban-
doned, the United States nevertheless may retain 
such exclusive possession or control of the lands tra-
versed by such right-of-way or any part thereof as 
it may elect, upon payment to the claimant of an 
amount the district court in the same action deter-
mines to be just compensation for such exclusive 
possession or control. 
(h) RECORDING REQUIREMENTS REGARDING VALID 
R.S. 2477 RIGHT-OF-WAY.—
(1) SURVEY
AND
FILING.—Within five years 
after the date of publication in the Federal Register 
of a final administrative determination recognizing a 
valid R.S. 2477 right-of-way, the claimant shall file 
the center-line survey of such right-of-way with the
State office of the Bureau of Land Management and 
with the appropriate land records of the State. 
(2) ABANDONMENT.—The failure of any claim-
ant to complete a center-line survey and to file such 
survey with the Bureau of Land Management within 
the time period specified in paragraph (1) shall be 
deemed to constitute an abandonment and a relin-
quishment of any rights purported to have been ac-
quired under R.S. 2477. 
(i) OPTION TO ACQUIRE.—If, within the period speci-
fied in subsection (h)(1), a center-line survey is filed for 
a right-of-way across lands owned or controlled by the 
United States, the authorized officer, on behalf of the 
United States, may elect to retain such exclusive posses-
sion or control of the lands traversed by such right-of-way 
or any part thereof as the authorized officer may elect, 
upon payment by the United States to the claimant of an 
amount the United States District Court for the district 
within which the longest lineal portion of the lands in-
volved are located determines to be just compensation for 
such exclusive possession or control. 
SEC. 5. LAW GOVERNING ADMINISTRATIVE DETERMINA-
TIONS. 
(a) RELATIONSHIP OF FEDERAL AND STATE LAW.—
In making an administrative determination of whether the
grant of a right-of-way pursuant to R.S. 2477 over unre-
served public lands was validly accepted prior to the latest 
available date, and in determining the scope of any right-
of-way so validly accepted, the authorized officer shall 
apply Federal law and the law of the State in which the 
claimed right-of-way is located, and which was in effect 
on the latest available date, to the extent that such State 
law is consistent with Federal law. 
(b) EFFECT OF PRIOR ADJUDICATIONS.—If the va-
lidity of any portion of a claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-way 
across lands owned or controlled by the United States has 
been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction be-
fore the date of the enactment of this Act in a matter 
in which the United States was a party, the authorized 
officer shall recognize such adjudication. 
SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND 
MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1976 AND ALASKA NA-
TIONAL INTEREST LANDS CONSERVATION 
ACT. 
Nothing in this Act is intended to, or shall be con-
structed to, affect, change, alter, or modify title V of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
U.S.C. 1761 et seq.) or title XI of the Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3161 et seq.).
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