AG Weiser testified before the House Committee on Agriculture, Water & Natural Resources in support of House Bill 25-1023, legislation addressing the construction of a 20-mile-long, high-security fence in Costilla County that has obstructed community access to historically shared lands. The fence, built at Cielo Vista Ranch, known locally as La Sierra, prevents residents from exercising their rights under the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant of 1844, which allows them to graze livestock, gather firewood, and practice religious traditions on the land. Additionally, the fence poses significant environmental risks, restricting wildlife migration and damaging the community’s water sources.

“These citizens are exasperated by the construction of a massive fence—one more like a barrier surrounding a prison than a simple fence between neighbors—in their community, harming their water, the wildlife, their longstanding cultural and religious traditions, and their rights. And yet despite their calls for help to government agencies, they were told that little to nothing could be done." – AG Weiser

https://coag.gov/2025/protect-community-land-rights-in-costilla-county/