US appeals court rebuffs wilderness groups

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A U.S. appeals court has ruled that wilderness groups can't intervene to help the government fight a lawsuit filed by Utah's Kane County seeking ownership of dirt roads crossing federal lands.

The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that because the federal government was fully committed to fighting the lawsuit no help is needed from the Sierra Club, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance or The Wilderness Society.

Kane County originally sued to gain title to two dirt roads on federal lands, then amended the lawsuit to include a variety of other motor routes, including some in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

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