.270 Report post Posted December 10, 2007 http://www.eacourier.com/articles/2007/12/...8e028164576.txt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
curmudgen Report post Posted December 10, 2007 I understand the hearing for the temporary injunction will be held in the Clifton Courthouse beginning at 9:00 on the 17th. I've been asked to be one of the witnesses to testify abt the status of the road for the 25 years before Tapia locked the gate. I lived in Graham County for more than 25 years and used the road often. The hearing will be in Clifton because Judge Stauffer, of the Greenlee County Superior Court, is hearing the case and not the judge from Graham County, where the road is located. This may become an important case for the cause of public access to public lands. Gerry Perry, Matt Walton and others at Game and Fish shld be commended for the work they are doing in this case, expecially in light of the fact that Graham County officials have refused to do anything to keep this county road open since Tapia locked it up. Jack Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Diamondbackaz Report post Posted December 12, 2007 The county always has eminent domain rights under the constitution provided that they provide reasonable compensation. The residents have a case but the general public may not. If there is no county right of way, the county never should have been maintaining it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COUESAZ Report post Posted December 12, 2007 Glad to see the gate is on the way out. It will be good to have that area open again. Diamondback i was wondering who had that plate when i went to order my new coues plate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
curmudgen Report post Posted December 12, 2007 The county always has eminent domain rights under the constitution provided that they provide reasonable compensation. The residents have a case but the general public may not. If there is no county right of way, the county never should have been maintaining it. That road has been a public road for more than 100 years according to research by AZGFD. There shld be no eminent domain taking needed. The county shld have taken up this fight on behalf of its citizens 4 or 5 years ago when Ms. Tapia closed it. Jack Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IHunt2live Report post Posted December 12, 2007 The county always has eminent domain rights under the constitution provided that they provide reasonable compensation. The residents have a case but the general public may not. If there is no county right of way, the county never should have been maintaining it. That road has been a public road for more than 100 years according to research by AZGFD. There shld be no eminent domain taking needed. The county shld have taken up this fight on behalf of its citizens 4 or 5 years ago when Ms. Tapia closed it. Jack Thats what I was going to say. I'de like to shake the hand of the people who have not given up on this fight even after 4 to 5 years. I've been locked out of an area by a landowner who locked a gate on a road that leads to forest service land I used to hunt. It SUCKS and no one in authority has given me the time of day to talk about it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
curmudgen Report post Posted December 12, 2007 As you can see from my bio, I've been around for a long time and the issue that concerns me most affecting our deer hunting is access to public lands. With all the budget cuts of the past 20-30 years none of the agencies which could aquire rights of way by eminent domain or build roads around private land to federal or state land have the funds to do so. The result is that when a landowner or subdivider decides to block access there is little that can be done to remedy the situation and once one owner blocks access the others in the area often follow suit because of the added traffic across their land. As you may know, there are several prime whitetail ranges in Southern Arizona that are virtually locked up, including the Whetstones, Dos Cabezas and others. It's a crying shame we have so much beautiful public land in Arizona that was wide open when I was a kid that is now totally unavailable to its owners, that is to you and me, who own the public lands. We need to stay on this issue and do what we can to protect the access we have and try to encourage public agencies who have access to Heritage Funds and othe funding sources to keep up the fight on our behalf. Jack Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Diamondbackaz Report post Posted December 14, 2007 The county always has eminent domain rights under the constitution provided that they provide reasonable compensation. The residents have a case but the general public may not. If there is no county right of way, the county never should have been maintaining it. That road has been a public road for more than 100 years according to research by AZGFD. There shld be no eminent domain taking needed. The county shld have taken up this fight on behalf of its citizens 4 or 5 years ago when Ms. Tapia closed it. Jack Thats what I was going to say. I'de like to shake the hand of the people who have not given up on this fight even after 4 to 5 years. I've been locked out of an area by a landowner who locked a gate on a road that leads to forest service land I used to hunt. It SUCKS and no one in authority has given me the time of day to talk about it. If this proof is so cut and dry, why is it going to court?? Why has it taken so long to get the gate unlocked? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
curmudgen Report post Posted December 14, 2007 That's a good question. It's partly because no one was willing to step up to the plate. Recently the access guy for AZGFD spent a day or two searching the records in Graham County and put together a pretty convincing record showing the road's history. About the same time some hunters got an attorney to get the case going. The state, as I understand it, had no standing to sue and the County has taken a hands off stance from the beginning even though it is appears to be their road. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
curmudgen Report post Posted December 18, 2007 I attended and testified at the hearing on Monday. The judge granted the temporary injunction keeping the road open. The judge's secretary told me this morning that the trial will be in January. One bad thing about this case is that the Mrs. Tapia is representing herself, which means the case may end up not having much value as precedent, except in Graham County unless it is appealed and a higher court rules on the issues being raised. (Maybe we shld get together a fund so she can hire an attorney and appeal it so we get a ruling from a higher court which would be binding throughout the state and not just in Graham County.) In any event we should thank the plaintiffs, including a nearby landowner, the Desert Bighorn Society and two other individuals who went to the trouble and expense to proceed with this suit. In case you want to know more and follow the case, it is: Pacheco vs. Stewart Title and Trust of Tucson(the trustee under a deed of trust) and Norma Tapia, Graham County Superior Court Case No. CV2007-279. Jack (Former Graham County Attorney) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
