Opinion ID: 2976648
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Reasonable Use Doctrine

Text: The Government argues in this case that the Refuge Act should be read in light of the general principle that the holder of a servient tenement may subject the use of an easement over its property, by the holder of the dominant tenement, to a reasonableness standard. Appellant Br. at 30 (citing Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance v. Bureau of Land Mgmt., 425 F.3d 735, 746 (10th Cir. 2005)). In Jenks II, the Tenth Circuit held that under the “reasonable use” doctrine, the federal government as the holder of the servient estate may require permits to traverse federal land, even where an inholder may have a common-law easement upon the land. Jenks II, 22 F.3d at 1518. By contrast, the Eighth Circuit holds that while the “reasonable use” doctrine is applicable to the federal government as the holder of a servient estate, the doctrine does not extend so far as to “cloak the Forest Service with the specific authority to approve surface use plans.” Duncan, 50 F.3d at 588. We agree with the Eighth Circuit that while the government as the holder of the servient estate may require that Plaintiffs-Appellees make only reasonable use of their easement over the field-access road, this doctrine alone would not allow the government to require Plaintiffs-Appellees to obtain a permit to exercise their rights in the easement. No. 06-6369 Burlison et al. v. United States Page 17