Block that Road!

It is your civic duty to block bogus RS 2477 "ghost roads"


Special interest groups--including the motorized recreation industry--are spreading myths about Revised Statute 2477.  These anti-landowner groups are inconvienced by the Constitutional protection for our private property rights and have created their own bizarre re-inpretation of the 1866 mining law in an attempt to open up private property for public motorized recreation.  In case after case, our juducial system has upheld the Constitutional protections that form the basis of our society.  Nevertheless, the off-road recreation establishment persists in spreading misinformation about RS 2477 and its impact on private property.   Recreation groups have engaged in harassment and intimidation of landowners, using RS 2477 as a weapon against private property rights.

These types of occurences are becoming more commonplace in Colorado because of increased urbanization and population.  Many city people come to rural areas seeking recreation opportunities and don't understand the protectiveness of traditional ranchers and other landowners who take their property rights seriously.  Many of the motorized recreationists are newcomers to the west and are generally unaware of land rights. Some county governments are seeking new sources of revenue from these non-traditional sources of income.  These small-time bureaucrats have presided over economic downturns and high unemployment in their counties,  and have been unsuccessful at attracting legitimate, sustainable businesses.  In desperation, they have embraced RS 2477 and turned their backs on long-time residents who need to be protected from these destructive new uses and from newcomers who disrespect local customs.   Here are some case studies.


Darwin Floyd

Mr. Floyd owns a modest home on 10 acres in Teller County, Colorado.  Over the past 10 years, there have been many conflicts with outsiders who have come to his property looking for recreational opportunities.  Hunters and off-road enthusiasts have claimed that portions of his property are public.  After he put up a locked gate they confronted him, vandalized his property, and have even took shots at him.  Teller County officials, in an attempt to appease recreationists who spend money in the area, cut the chain on Mr. Floyd's gate and charged him with a misdemeanor for "blocking a public road".  Mr. Floyed  faced a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $750 fine, simply for standing up for his private property rights!

This case went to trial on May 19, 2004, and was immediately dismissed by a local judge who was not fooled by the county's land grab attempt on behalf of special interests.  Mr. Floyd stood up for his Constitutional rights, and won!  Read more about Darwin Floyd and how he fought and over-reaching Teller County government that tried to use RS 2477 to confiscate his property.


Mark Boslough 

Mark Boslough's wife grew up riding horses and exploring the land around her family's  ranch in Boulder County, Colorado.  In the 1990's, a footpath through the ranch was discovered by the Mile-Hi Jeep Club and other off-road enthusiasts, who quickly went to work turning it into a motorized recreation and "mud bogging" area.  In the late 1990's, Mr. Boslough bought the rest of the land that was traversed by Barking Dog Trail and physically closed it to further distruction.  In the summer of 2000, a vigilante group was formed by a leader of the Mile-Hi Jeep Club and temporarily re-opened the trail.  They also vandalized the Boslough family's wetlands restoration project.  The off-road recreationists have threatened to lynch Mr. Boslough, and have posted photographs of his wife on their web site. 

A lawsuit was filed in 2002 in an attempt to create an RS 2477 road across the Boslough family's property.  It was dismissed by three Boulder District judges.  The first part was dismissed on January 29, 2004, the second part on Feb. 16, 2007, and the third and last part on August 27, 2007.  Mr. Boslough stood up for his Constitutional rights, and won!  Read more about Mark Boslough and his efforts to expose the hidden agenda behind RS 2477.

Kiley Miller and John Rzeczycki

Kiley Miller and John Rzeczycki are long-time residents of Moab, Utah who own a 160-acre tract of land near town.  They became fed up with four-wheelers (mostly from out of state) trespassing on their property and using their Lower Helldorado trail for drunken motorized recreation fests.  They fenced their property, and because they stood up for their rights they became the victims of a vicious anti-landowner attack.  The four-wheelers scrawled a death threat on their sign and hung a noose from a nearby tree.  One jeeper apparently took the death threat serously and used her vehicle as a weapon, running into Mr Rzeczycki and injuring him.

Shortly thereafter, 7th District court judge Lyle Anderson ruled that this family had the right to be secure in their private property.  "Plaintiffs are free to take names and license plate numbers of anyone who enters [Helldorado] and you can sue them for trespass," he said. "If you put up a gate there and anyone takes it down, that would be trespass."  Ms. Miller and Mr Rzeczycki stood up for her Constitutional rights, and won!  Read more about Kiley Miller and John Rzeczycki and the ongoing war between private property and off-road recreation.


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