Bayfield Co. prevails against snowmobile corridor suit
By RICK OLIVO
The Daily Press
Last Updated: Friday, May 30th, 2003 10:06:22 AM
The U.S. Supreme Court Monday declined to consider an appeal by Bayfield County residents Douglas and Judy Mauler over the ownership of a popular snowmobile trail running across the Maulers' property near Benoit.
The decision marks the final chapter in an ongoing legal battle between the Maulers and Bayfield County, a fight that has been waged in county, state and federal courts since 1998.
The snowmobile trail lies on a rail corridor which was originally part of public lands granted by the United States government to aid in the construction of a railroad. The Union Pacific Railroad abandoned the line in 1978, which was bought by Bayfield County in 1989 and operated as a snowmobile trail.
Several years later, the Maulers bought the land on either side of the trail and claimed under Wisconsin law, the corridor had become part of their land once the railroad stopped using it.
This set off a legal fight between the county and the Maulers that continued until Monday's Supreme Court ruling.
Used as a trail linking the northern and southern parts of the county, the trail bisecting the Mauler's property became more and more intrusive, they said. The county and the Maulers attempted to reach an agreement about rerouting the trail but disputes over the length of the proposed easement proved impossible to reconcile and that effort collapsed.
In 1998, the Maulers erected a wooden barricade to prevent snowmobilers from crossing the trail at their property. The Maulers agreed to remove the barrier in November after Bayfield County filed a suit against them in October and won a declaratory judgment enjoining the couple from blocking the trail. On appeal, the State Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment.
In 2001, U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb, ruling on a suit filed by the Maulers, said they had no legal title to the right-of-way. Although the Maulers claimed the land had automatically become part of their land when the Union Pacific abandoned the line in 1978, Crabb ruled that the railroad had properly conveyed the right of way for use as a public highway, and that Bayfield County had established such a highway in the form of the snowmobile trail.
In 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals concluded that Crabb's decision was correct and found that the Maulers claims were invalid because the couple held no legal interest in the strip of land in the first place.
The Supreme Court's decision on Monday lets the Seventh Circuit's decision stand.
According to Attorney Richard Nordeng, the Madison attorney who represented Bayfield County, the ruling marks the last step in the Mauler's challenge to the County's ownership of the trail and brings the case to an end. He emphasized that the case has implications for other counties which have recreational trails on rail corridors that were originally part of federal grants to railroad companies to aid in the construction of railroads.
"The Federal law favors preserving rail corridors for recreational use and this case reaffirms that important policy. We are obviously very pleased with the result," he said.
In a December 2002 opinion column by Erik Kingstad, the Woodbury, Minn. attorney who represented the Maulers said the case "overthrows the rights of landowners" established in other federal case law. He claimed unless the case had been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, landowners abutting abandoned rights-of-way outside of national parks and forests would have to buy those corridors from the United States.
Pat Thornton, Executive Director of Tourism and Recreation for Bayfield County said she was "very pleased that questions about the county's rights to the trail have finally been laid to rest after years of litigation."
"Removing uncertainty over the County's right to the trail is important in maintaining one of the County's main sources of revenue in the winter — the revenue derived from its premiere snowmohiling trails," she said. "The County looks forward to focusing its energies on continuing to improve those trails."
At Press time Thursday, the Maulers were unavailable for comment.