The state of Wyoming has not taken much interest in an old federal law making it possible for local governments to claim rights-of-way through federal lands.

But a new Bureau of Land Management rule making it easier to claim such rights-of-way may prove valuable to pipeline companies seeking to cross federally administered lands, according to a Rock Springs spokesman for a pro-development group.

On Christmas Eve, the BLM issued a statement announcing a streamlined procedure to resolve title disputes over rights-of-way along old roads and trails that cross federal lands. It could enable some people to take more interest in a 19th century law passed to encourage development of the West.

The 1866 Mining Law provision - RS (revised statute) 2477 - states simply that "The right-of-way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted."

Congress repealed RS 2477 in 1976, but ever since the Reagan administration, Western politicians and allies in mining, timber, off-road vehicle and livestock industries have tried to resurrect the old law in efforts to block wilderness designation or open wild lands to development or motorized recreation.

The Wyoming Office of Federal Land Policy, created eight years ago in the governor's office, has not been very active with the RS 2477 issue, said Julie Kozlowski, assistant director.

"It is more of a county issue," she said. The state government has not inventoried RS 2477 candidate roads because there has been little or no interest expressed by the counties, she said.

She agreed that the final configuration of Grand Teton National Park in 1950 came with provisions that have dampened interest in RS 2477 over the years. Those provisions included:

- No further extension or establishment of national parks or monuments will be allowed in Wyoming without congressional authorization.

- The park will designate corridors, including stock driveways, for movement of persons and property to or from national forest, state and private lands adjacent to the park.

- The park will continue grazing and residences where legally occupied and used.

Randy Shipman, a Rock Springs businessman and president of the Rocky Mountain region of People for the USA (PFUSA), said it is too early to tell whether the new BLM rule will lead to RS 2477 activity in Wyoming.

"There's not much interest," he said, because new national parks and monuments cannot be created in Wyoming without congressional approval.

The big opportunity for RS 2477 applications, Shipman said, is the need for pipeline rights-of-way. "A lot of companies tried in the 1990s to get rights-of-way across federal lands," he said. Because it was too difficult and expensive, those companies left the area, he said. Counties that want to encourage pipeline activity could use RS 2477 to facilitate pipeline rights-of-way, he suggested.

Of the state's counties, Sweetwater County has probably done the most in researching RS 2477 issues, but hasn't taken any action, said County Engineer John Nelson. Several years ago, former commissioner John Radosevich systematically interviewed the county's ranchers and obtained affidavits from them about old roads and stock trails. Information gleaned from those interviews was transferred to a large county map, which hangs outside Nelson's office.

Sweetwater County Commissioner Ted Ware said he's long been interested in RS 2477 but is not contemplating any action - just now.

"It isn't a huge issue here because we've always had good relationships with the BLM," said Ware. Because right-of-way issues have usually been amiably negotiated with the BLM, Sweetwater County has never felt it had to resort to a RS 2477 proceeding, Ware said.

In a real sense, all the research Sweetwater County has invested into RS 2477 is insurance for the county's economic interests, Ware said, should BLM policies become more adversarial.