Otero County Commission item number 29 on the consent agenda, 9/20/07, reads:
Dr. Martin Moore - Request approval to designate the mapped or inventoried roads and trails located on, but not limited to, the following jurisdictions as 66 ft. wide Otero County R.S. 2477 rights-of-way, except as noted in county records or on exisitng maps. (U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Agriculture - Forest Service, U.S. Department of Interior - Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service).
This item was approved, McGuinn, Moore and Nivison all voting in the affirmative.
It appears that our county commissioners with the backing of their constituents are not swallowing the wilderness/no roads concept for Lincoln National Forest. The Forest Supervisor read and submitted this letter for the record:
Otero County R.S. 2477 Map
September 20, 2007
Good Evening Mr. Chairman and Fellow Commissioners:
The Lincoln National Forest would like to go on record as being supportive of Otero County's efforts to have jurisdiction over certain roads and trails located on National Forest System (NFS) lands. We recommend that we work together to identify those roads and trails you are interested in and either use Cooperative Road Maintenance Agreements, or where appropriate, transfer jurisdiction and management responsibilities through easements to the County pursuant to the National Forest Road and Trail Act (FRTA), 16 U.S.C. Section 532-538. As you know, the map you are considering approving for R.S. 2477 status has no binding legal authority until it, with other supporting documents, is filed and approved by a Federal Court and the court rules on the request. This is a lengthy process, put the burden of proof for potential R.S. 2477 status on the County, and will be very costly to our taxpayers by the time this lengthy process is completed through the courts. We highly recomment that we work together to develop easements and forgo the costly and time consuming R.S. 2477 process. We believe we can reach both County and Forest Service objectives of providing safe access and travel routes to our publics in a more cost effective and timely manner if we work in this manner. I would like to submit this statement for the record. Thank you. /S/ S.E. "lou" Woltering FOREST SUPERVISOR Lincoln National Forest.
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