New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Media contact: Dan Williams, (505) 476-8004
Public contact: (505) 476-8000
dan.williams@state.nm.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, NOV. 25, 2008:

ANTELOPE PLAN EXTENSION, BIG-GAME HUNTING RULES ON GAME COMMISSION AGENDA

DEMING -- The State Game Commission will meet Dec. 4 in Deming to consider spending more time developing a pronghorn antelope management plan that will be best for the wildlife and represent the interests of landowners and hunters.

The Department of Game and Fish will recommend that the Commission give the agency another year to address concerns expressed during statewide public meetings over a plan to restructure the way the agency allocates pronghorn licenses on public and private land. The Department will recommend that the Commission adopt rules for the 2009-2010 pronghorn season that are similar to the 2008-2009 season while the Department develops a new proposal to revise the Antelope Private Land Use System (A-PLUS).

The meeting will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, in rooms 144-145 of the Mimbres Valley Special Events Center, 2300 E. Pine St., in Deming. The full agenda, detailed agenda-item briefings and other information are available on the Department of Game and Fish Web site, www.wildlife.state.nm.us or by calling (505) 476-8008.

Other agenda items include:

• Proposed amendments to hunting and fishing manner-and-method rules, including a definition of property posting against trespass and landowner permission to hunt or fish.

• A proposal to require all public and private hunting license applicants to obtain a customer identification number before applying.
  
  
• A proposal to establish a one-year hold-out period for all public drawing pronghorn antelope hunts and deer and elk public drawing hunts designated as "quality" or "high demand." The hold-out would make anyone who holds those licenses ineligible to hold another license of the same type the following year.
  
  
• The Commission also will consider approving Governor Bill Richardson's appointment of Tod Stevenson as Department director, and will elect a new chair and vice-chair for 2009.

• A proposal to solicit public input for a system to require all special hunt drawing applicants, including online applicants, to submit the full license fee prior to the drawing.
  
  
• Proposals to change all public draw deer permits to deer licenses, and to move the drawing for public deer licenses from April to February beginning in the 2010-2011 season.
   
  
• Proposed adoption of the 2008 Biennial Review of the status of species listed as threatened, endangered or restricted under New Mexico's Wildlife Conservation Act. The review follows an extended public comment period and includes recommendations to downlist desert bighorn sheep from endangered to threatened, and to uplist the gray redhorse sucker from threatened to endangered.

The State Game Commission is composed of seven members who represent the state’s diverse interests in wildlife-associated recreation and conservation. Members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. Current members are Chairman Tom Arvas, Albuquerque; Vice-chairman M.H. “Dutch” Salmon, Silver City; Alfredo Montoya, Alcalde; Leo Sims, Hobbs; Sandy Buffett, Santa Fe; Jim McClintic, Albuquerque; and Oscar Simpson, Albuquerque.

If you are an individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the meeting, please contact Shirley Baker, (505) 476-8030. Public documents, including the agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible forms.

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