Natrona County moves to establish Squaw Creek Road by prescription

CASPER, Wyo. — The establishment of Squaw Creek Road may serve as a blueprint for other troubled routes in Natrona County as legal hurdles continue to stall critical bridge and road repairs, with officials warning that similar measures may be needed elsewhere if property owners continue to block necessary infrastructure agreements.

While commissioners finalized the highway status of County Road 502 on Tuesday through a legal process known as establishment by prescription, Interim County Attorney Ashley Smith warned that similar prescriptive measures may be required for East End Road if holdout property owners continue to resist negotiating access agreements needed for infrastructure improvements.

The board considered Resolution 11-26, formally adopting the establishment of CR 502, locally known as Squaw Creek Road, as a county highway by prescription. This legal process recognizes a road as public based on long-term, continuous use and maintenance by the county, even without formal documentation of its status. Several residents attended the public hearing with questions about property boundaries, potential tax implications and the use of the word “highway” in the resolution.

Resident Condo Edwards questioned the terminology and whether the county planned to change the road’s name or structure. Smith clarified that the designation is strictly a legal requirement and will not change the road’s name or physical characteristics. “The state statute calls pretty much all county roads highways, and so we have to use the language that is in the state statute,” Smith told attendees. “It doesn’t change the structure of the road at all.”

Edwards also expressed concern about losing land to a county easement and whether the county would reimburse landowners for diminished property sizes. Road & Bridge Superintendent Mike Haigler said the county is merely formalizing the right-of-way it has maintained, mowed and plowed for years, providing essential access for residents who currently lack legal certainty about their ability to reach their own homes.

Haigler added the county plans to invest several million dollars to improve the deteriorating route, including paving driveways back to existing fence lines and installing new culverts to address drainage issues. “The road probably won’t last another year the way it is,” he warned, emphasizing the urgency of establishing clear legal status to enable improvement projects.

Smith later informed commissioners the county is struggling to secure bypass agreements from property owners to fix several deteriorating bridges, a separate but related infrastructure challenge. She plans to send certified letters as a final attempt to reach two property owners regarding road agreements for East End Road before pursuing similar prescriptive measures, which would provide a legal pathway to proceed with necessary repairs regardless of individual property owner cooperation.