Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance v. BLM

Several Utah counties (defendants) graded 16 roads across federal wilderness, national-monument, and national-park land without prior federal approval, claiming rights of way under R.S. 2477, an old federal statute granting highway rights of way over unreserved public land; the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA, plaintiff) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM, also a defendant in the underlying dispute but aligned with SUWA on this issue) both argued 'construction' under R.S. 2477 required actual mechanical construction rather than mere continuous public use, while the counties argued their grading activities were lawful since conducted within the right of way's physical boundaries. The district court ruled for SUWA and the BLM, and the counties appealed.