A federal appeals court panel has made a judgment on the matter of disputed roads in Kane County. Whether the ruling of the panel is a victory for Kane County and Utah or for environmentalists depends on who you ask.
The panel affirmed title to six of the 12 roads granted to Utah and Kane County in a 2013 decision by a lower court, but in the case of the other six, ruled that since there is no title dispute, the court has no jurisdiction.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance interprets that to mean the court will likely refuse to rule on the vast majority of the remaining 12,000 road claims the state is pursuing.
Tony Rampton with the Attorney General's office says the ruling is more ambiguous. Rep. Mike Noel (R-Kane County) says he believes it's full steam ahead with the additional challenges.
"We feel really good about that. We're moving forward with the Attorney General's Office, taking more depositions, getting ready to go to work on it. We feel like we're going to be very successful in this effort," Noel said.
Next up is a decision on the famous pioneer, Hole-In-The-Rock Road, also in Kane County.