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, JULY 1, 2009:

PUBLIC MEETINGS WILL ADDRESS ELK HUNTING IN UNIT 6, JEMEZ MOUNTAINS

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish will conduct four public meetings in northern New Mexico this month to discuss proposals and concerns about elk management in Game Management Units 6A and 6C in the Jemez Mountains.

The Department and the State Game Commission is considering requests for changes in unit boundaries and the way elk hunting authorizations are allocated to private landowners through the agency's E-PLUS system. Proposals from a group of concerned landowners include:

• Combining units 6A and 6C into one unit.
• Managing the elk population so that quality bull hunting is maintained or improved and the total population is allowed to grow.
• Adjusting the Elk - Private Lands Use System (E-PLUS) formula to include agricultural crop use by elk as a factor in determining the allocation of private land elk hunting authorizations.
• Adjusting the E-PLUS process to allocate more private land hunting authorizations as a form of compensation for property damage caused by elk.

Results of a recent survey sent to landowners, registered outfitters, U.S. Forest Service districts, Indian pueblos and business owners in and around Unit 6 also will be discussed at the meeting.

The meetings:

• Coyote, July 14: 6 to 8 p.m., U.S. Forest Service Coyote Ranger Station, N.M. 96, Private Drive 1707, Building 20, Coyote.
  
• Valles Caldera, July 15: 6 to 8 p.m., Valles Caldera Administration Building, 18161 N.M. 4, Jemez Springs.
  
• Cuba, July 16: 6 to 8 p.m., Cuba Senior Center, 16B East Cordova Ave., Cuba.
  
• Espanola, July 17: 6 to 8 p.m., Northern New Mexico College, 921 Paseo de Onate, Joseph Montoya Building, Classrooms AD 101-102, Espanola.

For more information about this issue, please contact the Department's Wildlife Management Division, (505) 476-8037, or Department of Game and Fish, Wildlife Management Division, P.O. Box 25112, Santa Fe, NM 87504.

###