Like Father, Like Son

Freeing the path for the completion of a snowmobile trail in Bayfield County, Wis., Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) helped overturn a lower court ruling that had challenged the county's rights to an out-of-service rail corridor.
 
The case, Samuel Johnson Trust v. Bayfield County, involved part of Chicago & North Western's line from Trego to Bayfield, known as the "Bayfield Branch." The federal government had originally granted the corridor to the state of Wisconsin to build a railroad. So even after rail service ended on the Bayfield Branch, the land, by law, had to remain available for public uses, including highways and trails.
 
Indeed, Bayfield County had already redeveloped other portions of the corridor as a popular snowmobile trail, and its plans called for adding a segment around Drummond, Wis. A group of local landowners, however, disputed the county's rights to this stretch of corridor and brought suit against Bayfield County and the United States.
 
After a lower court initially ruled in favor of the landowners, Bayfield County, with legal help from RTC, appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. In its decision on April 2, 2008, the 7th Circuit unanimously overturned the district court ruling, holding instead that the federal government still retains its interest in the corridor, and that Bayfield County therefore has the right to redevelop the land as a public trail.
 
RTC filed an amicus brief in the case with the assistance of pro bono counsel Charles Montange, and the court directly acknowledged RTC's arguments. "We are mindful," the decision states, "of the important policy considerations raised by the parties and the amicus curiae, particularly with respect to the County and Congress's interest in preserving abandoned railway lines for conversion into trails."
 
"It's a good precedent," says Andrea Ferster, general counsel for RTC, "that appropriately recognizes the important federal laws mandating preservation of federally granted rights-of-way for public uses."
 
Since there are currently hundreds of miles of federally granted right-of-way already converted to public rail-trails across the country, and thousands more potentially available for future use, this win has far-reaching significance. "Without the legal backing of RTC in partnership with Bayfield County, those corridor miles and the benefits to the communities they connect would be lost," says Jeff Ciabotti, vice president of trail development for RTC. "This decision is proof that often good ideas need a good defense."