Ranchers vs. feds

May 18–WEED, N.M. — A cold spring in a quiet meadow runs at the heart of a hot dispute between ranchers and the federal government — and it may be reaching a flash point.

The U.S. Forest Service recently finished fencing a spring-fed creek called Agua Chiquita to lock out cattle from a sensitive habitat recovery area in the Lincoln National Forest. That prompted a fresh outcry from ranchers who say the project infringes on their water rights.

The dispute over access to the shallow creek — whose name means “little water” in Spanish — has deep roots in local animosity toward federal land control, not unlike the conflict that recently prompted armed Nevada ranchers to challenge the federal government’s authority over land in that state.

An attempt Friday by the U.S. attorney in Albuquerque to mediate an agreement between county officials who support the ranchers and Forest Service managers failed to reach a resolution and leaves tensions simmering.

“We won’t be able to resolve right away who owns the water or if the federal government is following the law, but in the meantime, we don’t want the citizens of Otero County to take this into their own hands,” said Otero County attorney Blair Dunn, who called the meeting “disappointing.”

The sheriff will pursue a criminal investigation targeting the Forest Service for “destruction of property” and water rights violations, while the county has called on Congress to get involved, Dunn said. U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., said Friday he would ask for field hearings and said he believed “the government is overstepping its bounds one more time.”

The Forest Service said in a statement Saturday that it is committed to working with the county and grazing permittees to ensure cattle have access to water. Forest Supervisor Travis Moseley has maintained that the agency stands on “sound legal footing” in its creation of a protected habitat.

‘First’ family affected

The Holcomb family grazes about 200 head of cattle during the summer on some 28,000 acres of forest, including around Agua Chiquita. Theirs are the only cattle directly affected by the new pipe fencing and locked gates, which keep cattle out of about 23 acres around the creek’s headwaters, but the family is heartily supported by other local ranchers, the Otero County Cattleman’s Association and the county government.

“I see mine as the first” family to be affected, said Judyann Holcomb Medeiros. “It’s a precedent that I want to establish that the Forest Service does not own the water. … So I want them to acknowledge they don’t have the right to fence my cattle off that water.”

Backing that sentiment, the Otero County Commission approved a resolution last week saying the Forest Service has no right to fence in, or exclude cattle from, water that is “private property.” Holcomb Medeiros claims historical water rights on the land her family has ranched since 1956 and which has been used for grazing since the early 1900s.

Referring to the controversial Nevada rancher leading a standoff against the federal government, Otero County rancher Ted Eldridge said, “We’re trying to avoid a Cliven Bundy situation. I hope we can resolve this problem like grown-ups.”

Protected habitat

The Forest Service fenced in Agua Chiquita to protect the area as a riparian, or river, habitat with about $104,000 in funding from the New Mexico Game and Fish “habitat stamp,” a $5 contribution paid annually by sportsmen for projects that support wildlife. Additional funds came from the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Walking through the tall, green grass growing inside the fenced-in Agua Chiquita, Moseley pointed to the places where the spring water is still accessible to cattle at a pass in the fencing as well as farther downstream.

“Riparian habitat in the Southwest is very limited,” he said. “It may be small, but it has a large influence on the landscape. It’s like the arteries of an organism. It’s a fundamental piece of a broader landscape.”

Elk and deer can breach the fence and access the water, but cattle — which don’t do much jumping — cannot. Wild animals like elk come and go, he said, but cattle tend to stay put and can trample a fragile ecosystem.

Scott Lerich, a wildlife biologist and Otero County sportsman, says he made the $5 habitat stamp contribution and favors the Agua Chiquita project. Across the Southwest, he said, 1 percent to 3 percent of the landscape is riparian area. Those scarce ecosystems support up to 90 percent of vertebrate species at some point in their life cycle.

“Fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals spend at least some part of their life depending on riparian areas,” said Lerich, who also works for the National Wild Turkey Federation. “That doesn’t count insects or vegetation. They are extremely important. Without them we would lose our biodiversity.”