I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3447 
To provide a means of resolving claims regarding the continued existence 
of rights-of-way under former section 2477 of the Revised Statutes, 
for the benefit of private landowners, State and local governments, and 
the public. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2005 
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, for the benefit of private land-
owners, State and local governments, and the public. 
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 
‘‘Highway Claims Resolution Act of 2005’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 1866, to assist in the opening of the 
West for resource development and settlement, Con-
gress enacted a law that granted rights-of-way for 
the construction of highways across public land not 
reserved for public uses. That law was later included 
in the Revised Statutes as section 2477 and thus be-
came 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Management Act of 1976 repealed R.S. 2477, but 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) Between 1866 and 1976, millions of acres 
of Federal lands were transferred to private parties 
under the Homestead Act and other laws, while ad-
ditional millions of acres of Federal lands were 
transferred to States and other parties. 
(4) R.S. 2477 did not require notifying the 
Federal Government or any other entity regarding 
utilization of specific grants of highway rights-of- 
way or documentation in the public land records re-
garding claims for such grants. 
(5) 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, including lands now owned by 
private parties, States, and other non-Federal enti-
ties as well as large amounts of Federal lands, in-
cluding lands now used for military training and 
testing and other national defense purposes as well 
as lands that have been included in the National 
Forest System, National Park System, National 
Wildlife Refuge System, and National Wilderness 
Preservation System. 
(6) In recent years, controversies have arisen as 
to whether certain claimed routes are valid highway 
rights-of-way under R.S. 2477. This causes uncer-
tainty both for parties claiming to possess a prop-
erty interest in such routes and for the owners and 
managers of the lands affected by such claimed 
routes. 
(7) 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. To address these problems, in 
1992, Congress directed the Secretary of the Inte-
rior 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 as-
sessing claims for such rights-of-way.
(8) 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. 
(9) 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. 
(10) It is in the interest of all who might be af-
fected, including private landowners, State and local 
governments, and the public to provide consistent, 
coherent guidance regarding evaluation and timely 
resolution of claims for rights-of-way based on R.S. 
2477. 
(c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 
certainty to affected private landowners, State and local
governments, and the public by establishing a deadline for 
filing of claims for highway rights-of-way under R.S. 2477 
and providing a process for consideration and resolution 
of such claims. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 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. 
(2) The term ‘‘authorized officer’’ means the a 
person designated by the Secretary of the Interior to 
perform the duties of an authorized officer pursuant 
to this Act with respect to a claim. If a claim in-
volves Federal lands under the management jurisdic-
tion of a Department or Departments other than the 
Department of the Interior, the Secretary shall con-
sult with and obtain the concurrence of the head of 
each such other Department with respect to the ap-
pointment of the authorized officer. 
(3) 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.
(4) The term ‘‘claimant’’ means any State, po-
litical subdivision of a State, or any other person or 
entity asserting the existence and validity of a right- 
of-way pursuant to R.S. 2477, except a person or 
entity 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. 
(5) The term ‘‘conservation lands’’ means lands 
that are within a conservation system unit, an inven-
toried roadless area, a wilderness inventory area, or 
a wilderness study area. 
(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, using mechanical tools, intended to prepare, 
and that accomplished preparation of, a highway by 
a durable, observable, physical modification of land 
to facilitate its use as a highway. 
(8) The term ‘‘county’’ means the primary po-
litical subdivision of a State, including a borough in 
Alaska and a parish in Louisiana. 
(9) The term ‘‘former Federal lands’’ means 
lands title to which has passed from the United 
States to another owner. 
(10) The term ‘‘highway’’ means a significant 
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 vehicles carrying people 
or goods from one place to another place. 
(11) 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. 
(12) 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 deci-
sion) in the case of public lands reserved for 
public uses before October 21, 1976. 
(C) the date on which title vested in a per-
son or entity other than the United States in 
the case of former Federal lands. 
(13) The term ‘‘Native Corporation’’ has the 
same meaning as specified in section 3 of the Alas-
kan Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602). 
(14) The terms ‘‘public lands not reserved for 
public uses’’ and ‘‘unreserved public lands’’ mean 
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, 
including lands that had not yet been set aside, dedi-
cated, withdrawn, reserved, settled, preempted, en-
tered, appropriated, or disposed of, or on which 
claims had not been located. 
(15) 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). 
(16) The term ‘‘survey’’ means the identifica-
tion of a highway using methods consistent with 
State and Federal cadastral survey standards, where 
Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata 
standards are used to document the accuracy of the 
determined location of the highway and width so 
that said determined location of the highway will not 
be inappropriately used for cadastral surveying pur-
poses. 
(17) The term ‘‘wilderness inventory area’’ 
means an area of public lands determined by the 
Bureau of Land Management to be an area pos-
sessing wilderness character or wilderness character-
istics through inventories conducted pursuant to sec-
tion 201 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 
(18) 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 A NOTICE OF CLAIM. 
(a) OPPORTUNITY TO FILE NOTICE OF A CLAIM.— 
During the 4-year period beginning on the date of the en-
actment 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 
Federal lands may file a notice of a claim to that effect 
pursuant to this section. 
(b) CONTENTS OF A NOTICE OF A CLAIM.—A notice 
of a claim filed under subsection (a) shall state the name 
and address of the claimant, provide a general description 
and general map of the location of the claimed R.S. 2477 
right-of-way, and identify the county or counties in which
the right-of-way is claimed. A notice of claim filed under 
subsection (a) involving former Federal lands shall include 
the names of the owners of record of such lands. 
(c) PLACE OF FILING.— 
(1) INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.—A claimant may 
file the notice of a claim either in the office of the 
Secretary of the Interior in Washington, DC, or in 
an office designated by the Secretary of the Interior 
pursuant to paragraph (2) in each State where lands 
are located upon which the R.S. 2477 right-of-way 
is claimed to exist. 
(2) STATE OFFICES.—No later than 30 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of the Interior shall identify offices where no-
tices of claims may be filed in Alaska, Arizona, Cali-
fornia, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New 
Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming 
and in addition may identify such offices in such 
other States as the Secretary considers appropriate. 
(3) OTHER FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS.—If a no-
tice filed pursuant to this section involves lands 
owned by the United States, the Secretary of the In-
terior shall provide a copy of each notice to the head 
of each Federal agency responsible for control or 
management of such lands and, in the case of a no-
tice involving lands controlled by the Department of 
Defense, also to the commanding officer of the mili-
tary installation having real property accountability 
for such lands. 
(4) FORMER FEDERAL LANDS.—In the case of 
a claim involving former Federal lands, the claimant 
shall provide to the current owner of record of the 
lands a copy of the notice of the claim as filed pur-
suant to this section. 
(5) COUNTY FILING.—A claimant shall provide 
a copy of the notice of a claim or claims to the coun-
ty or counties where any portion of the claimed 
right-of-way is purported to exist. 
(6) AUTHORIZED OFFICER.—No later than 30 
days after receipt from a claimant of a notice filed 
pursuant to this section, the Secretary of the Inte-
rior shall notify the claimant regarding the identity 
of the authorized officer who will be responsible for 
the claim. 
(d) PUBLICATION OF FILING.—The authorized offi-
cer shall regularly post the filings of notices of claims on 
the authorized officer’s agency Web site, shall publish in 
the Federal Register a monthly list of the notices of claims 
filed by State, shall monthly provide relevant counties a 
list of the notices of claims filed within those counties, and