Court Ruling Could Derail Trails

A U.S. Supreme Court decision affecting the legality of a rails-to-trail route in Wyoming has left local officials wondering if the decision will affect any of the multiple recreation trails in the Inland Northwest. The court on Monday sided with a Wyoming property owner in a dispute over a bicycle trail that follows the route of an abandoned railroad. The decision could force the government to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to compensate landowners. The justices ruled 8-1 Monday that property owner Marvin Brandt remains the owner of a 200-foot-wide trail that crosses his 83-acre parcel in southern Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest. The trail once was the path of a railroad and is among thousands of miles of abandoned railroads that have been converted to recreational trails. Chief Justice John Roberts said the government was wrong to assert that it owns the trail/ SR, AP . More here.

Question: Can you imagine what this area would be like without its wonderful rails-to-trails system?