VALENCIA COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s a battle between two government agencies over who is supposed to police the bosque in Valencia County. The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) and the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office are at an impasse while more and more homeless encampments are moving in.
“We are sensitive to the needs and the dignity of the individuals. We don’t want to impose on that, but we do have to protect the bosque,” said Eric Zamora, chief operating officer for MRGCD.
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Zamora says they’ve seen a steady increase in homeless encampments, vandalism, and fires in the forest; most notably in Valencia County, where they’re seeing more people camping and even shooting off guns in the bosque.
MRGCD says it’s stopping them from being able to do their jobs, like dealing with spring runoff and fixing levees, and is creating a dangerous environment in terms of dealing with fires, flooding, and criminal activity.
“We’ve been struggling with support with law enforcement. We’ve been told that this is district land and the district is responsible for policing it’s own land; and so that’s been an issue that we’ve been trying to work through with the local law enforcement,” Zamora said.
However, he says the MRGCD doesn’t have the resources to police it on their own. “We don’t have the training, we don’t have the staffing to engage in these encounters should they become hostile,” Zamora said. “So for example, you can’t issue a fine, you can’t escort them out?” News 13 asked. “We cannot. That can only be done through certified law enforcement,” Zamora says.
However, the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) says per New Mexico Statute, the MRGCD does have the right to police their own property whereas they (VCSO) are spread too thin to do so: “I know the conservancy has asked the Sheriff’s Office that the Sheriff’s Office actively patrol their private property. Unfortunately, we don’t have the resources here in Valencia County—number of law enforcement officers and such—to be able to be just one landowner’s private property security,” said Lieutenant Joseph Rowland with VCSO.
He says there are also legal limitations: “We can’t be the determining factor. The landowner or property owner has to make that determination, indicate who exactly is not allowed to be there, contact the sheriff’s office, and then we will have that person removed,” Rowland said.
Both groups say they’ve tried to work together; the MRGCD even took one of VCSO’s recommendations to put up signs in the bosque telling people what is and isn’t allowed. However, both sides say there’s also the issue of limited resources in Valencia County for unhoused people: We don’t want to take radical action against these folks knowing that there’s limited services in Valencia County,” Zamora said.
Rowland says the county and other agencies have asked for congressional funding for a study on addressing homelessness in the area.
