Aug. 29 – The New Mexico Department of Justice plans to hold a landowner along the Pecos River in contempt of court after he missed a deadline to remove signs and fences blocking the river.
In October 2023, the state of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against San Miguel County homeowners who blocked public access to the Pecos River following a 2022 ruling by the New Mexico Supreme Court. The court affirmed that while landowners bordering the river may own the riverbeds, the public has the right to access the water as long as they do not trespass on the bank.
One of those landowners, Erik Briones of Terrero, signed a consent decree in March requiring him to remove all fences, barriers and signs that would prevent people from reaching the water by May 24. Months later, that still hasn’t happened, according to a motion seeking to hold Briones in contempt of court.
“Today’s legal action underscores our continued commitment to protecting the public’s right to access New Mexico’s streams and waterways,” Attorney General Raul Torrez said in a press release.
Torrez also filed a motion adding two additional Terrero landowners, Jean and Richard Jenkins, to the original complaint, as well as a motion seeking preliminary injunction against the couple.
The original complaint against Briones shows photos of six-foot-tall white pipe fences with barbed wire embedded in them. The complaint says these fences can trap or injure paddlers and waders. There are also “No Trespassing” signs.
Briones said he plans to remove the obstructions after the river flow decreases. The river has been high after heavy spring runoff and rains, he said.
“There was only a very short period of time where we could go in the river because of the current,” Briones said. “But I was out of town. Now we can’t go in the river.”
Briones disagrees with the decision, which he says exposes landowners to lawsuits, vandalism and littering. He and other landowners filed a federal complaint in June seeking to overturn the New Mexico Supreme Court decision.
A message about the status of the complaint left with the media manager of Pacific Legal Foundation, which represents the landowners in the case, was not returned. Court records indicate the case is ongoing.
“If someone fell and broke an arm, broke a leg, drowned, they could sue us,” Briones said. “It’s really a conflict, where the state forces us to give access, but they don’t give us any protection from liability.”
The decision was welcomed by conservation and water recreation groups, as it ensures the public can access the water without fear or obstacles.
“Thank you … Torrez, for upholding the public’s constitutional right to recreate in the public waters of New Mexico’s rivers and streams and for taking legal action to protect recreational users from threats and violence,” Scott Carpenter, president of the Adobe Whitewater Club of New Mexico, said in a statement.
Norm Gaume, stream access chair for the New Mexico Paddlers Coalition, learned to canoe on the Gila River in college and has been paddling ever since. Gaume said he was threatened while paddling in Colorado, when he and his friends were “chased off the river at gunpoint.”
“I decided then that if something like that happened in New Mexico, I would fight it with everything I could,” Gaume said.
Last year, he and others collected photos of signs threatening legal action and barricades along the Pecos River.
“Rivers mean so much to me and my friends,” Gaume said. “My grandchildren have the constitutional right in New Mexico to enjoy them without being bothered by these guys who want to impose their will on us.”
