Doa Ana County misjudged property line, says it mistakenly bulldozed portion of woman’s land

A Las Cruces woman wants her property fixed after she said the county ripped down a portion of her trees and plants with out any warning.

It happened in the Las Alturas community southeast of Las Cruces.

Linda Worley showed ABC-7 the marker that pinpoints where her property line ends. She said bulldozers took down trees and vegetation about 20 to 30 feet past that.

The Doa Ana County’s flood commission said it’s doing maintenance on the Tellbrook arroyo that runs adjacent to her land. Through aerial photos, the flood commission director said it misjudged the location of the property line.

He also admits the county didn’t follow procedure and give residents warning about the project. He said it was in a rush to get things done before monsoon season.

“We typically do go through the survey check and for some reason that was skipped,” Flood Commission Director Paul Dugie said. “It is why we are where we are today and I apologize for skipping those steps. It was not intentional, we’re just trying to get the work done as quickly as possible.”

But Worley now fears the eroded land will cause flooding and extra dirt in the air. She’s also unhappy that years of plant life, a home for many small animals, are gone.

“I want it clear that they’re never ever going to trespass on our property or anyone else’s property like this,” Worley said. “And I think they need to revisit their whole approach to cleaning out and maintaining these dams. I think they have to do that. Of course we support that, but they need to do it in a way that’s the least intrusive and the least damaging not only to property owners but to the environment there.”

The county now has to pay to fix the problem. It said erosion control will be out there as soon as possible, but couldn’t specify on when the rest of the land will be fixed.