Otero County rancher says rights violated

Rancher Judyann Mederios said her water rights have been violated. Mederios told KFOX14 that the U.S. Forest Service fenced off a small creek where her cattle grazes. Now the cattle have to travel to get to water. "Our cattle have to walk long distance," said Mederios. She said fences are illegal and may force the cattle to walk in the road. Mederios' cattle are sitting on a patch of land near the Agua Chiquita riparian area in the Lincoln National Forest. Travis Moseley supervises the area. He told KFOX14 that fences like those have been around since the1990s are completely legal. He said they are there to protect the habitat of the stream. He did say that the cattle will have access to water but only in certain areas. Mederios said the water is part of her grazing permit and can't be restricted. That's why she's asking the county commissioners for help. Otero County commissioners sent Moseley a cease-and-desist letter that told him to stop building fences. When that didn't work, they asked him to open the gates. He said no. "We see no need to do that at this point," said Moseley. “Water is available. And we continue to work with the livestock operator there to look at contingency plans in the event the drought restricts water availability." Now the commissioners have asked the Otero County sheriff to unlock the gates but to do that, he'll need a court order. As of Thursday afternoon the fences near Agua Chiquita were still locked.  KFOX14