Opinion ID: 874437
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether public use for five years is necessary to accept the federal grant of an R.S. 2477 right-of-way.

Text: [I]n order for there to be an acceptance of a congressional grant of a right-of-way for a public highway under this statute, `there must be either user [sic] by the public for such a period of time, and under such conditions as to establish a highway under the laws of this State; or there must be some positive act or acts on the part of the proper public authorities clearly manifesting an intention to accept such grant with respect to the particular highway in question.' Farrell, 138 Idaho at 384, 64 P.3d at 310 (quoting Kirk, 63 Idaho at 282-83, 119 P.2d at 268 (citations omitted)). In Farrell, this Court found this statement from Kirk to contain two methods for establishing an R.S. 2477 public right-of-way. See Farrell, 138 Idaho at 384, 64 P.3d at 310. That is, an R.S. 2477 right-of-way is either created through a positive act of acceptance by the local government or compliance with the road creation statutes in existence at the time. Prior to this appeal, neither party argued that a positive act of acceptance by the local government occurred. Therefore, in this instance, Jutte bore the burden of showing compliance with the road creation statutes in existence in 1904. The road creation statutes, in effect from 1887, required use for a period of five years. See Revised Statutes of 1887 § 851, page 150. Currently, Idaho recognizes that the act of construction and first use constitute the acceptance of the grant given to the public for federal land rights-of-ways. I.C. § 40-204A(1). [1] I.C. § 40-204A was not intended to have retroactive effect. [2] Because the land was undisputedly removed from the public domain in 1904, the question of whether a public right-of-way exists is governed by the statutes in effect in 1904. Those statutes would be the Revised Statutes of 1887. In this instance, Jutte was required to prove to the Board that the Roads were used for a period of five years in order to meet his initial burden, and not merely to show an act of construction and first use.