‘There’s hundreds of them’: UTV riders blamed for damaging Doña Ana mountains

DOÑA ANA COUNTY, New Mexico -- It's been half a year since northern Doña Ana County residents say they've had a good night's sleep on the weekends.

"It starts every Friday afternoon and it doesn't even slow down until Monday morning," said one man who lives south of the Doña Ana Mountains. "There's hundreds of them."

The man asked ABC-7 to conceal his identity because he says he doesn't want the ATV and UTV riders to target his home or his family.

"At 11:45 on Saturday, 47 of them came by the house," he explained.

The man said the hundreds of riders trespass on the privately owned Eclipse Road, which intersects with La Reina Road, to get to the mountains. The protected land is not only littered with trash, but damaged from the continuous use.

"It's down to bare rock," the man said. "There's no bush. There's no dirt. There's nothing except empty beer cans and garbage."

The riders have carved out dirt roads in the mountain where there was only vegetation a year ago, he said.

"I certainly live with their complaints as well," admitted Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart, who also lives just south of the mountains. "At night, my house lights up with lights from out there."

A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management told ABC-7 that the agency has responded to complaints in the Doña Ana Mountains, but that there are only two law enforcement officers to cover six southern New Mexico counties with 5.4 million acres.

"The reality is, they're greatly stressed," said Sheriff Stewart.

"We can't be everywhere all the time," admitted BLM spokeswoman Allison Sandoval.

Sandoval did emphasize that any travel on BLM lands should be restricted to the roads. Sheriff Stewart said deputies have responded to complaints about the private road, but that off-road riders can access the mountain from any side.