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, SEPT. 16, 2009:

BIG-GAME HUNTING APPLICATION PROCESS ON COMMISSION AGENDA

LAS CRUCES -- The State Game Commission will consider changing the way hunters apply for deer licenses and set the 2010-2011 big-game license application deadlines at the Commission's meeting Thursday, Sept. 24, in Las Cruces.

The meeting will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, in Las Cruces. 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.

Proposed changes to the deer hunting application system include simplifying the deer licensing process by eliminating the current deer hunting permits. Successful applicants would be issued a deer license, similar to the way elk, antelope and other big-game licenses currently are issued. Proposals also call for exemptions to the every-other-year application restriction on "Quality" and "High Demand" hunts for youth hunts, some private-land-only hunts, and public-land hunts that were unfilled or purchased via the secondary sale after the drawing.

Other agenda items include:

• A request to approve application deadlines for big-game hunt drawings. Proposed application deadlines are Feb. 3, 2010, for oryx, bear WMA permits, turkey WMA permits, and all population  management hunts; and April 7, 2010, for deer, elk, pronghorn, ibex, Barbary sheep, javelina and bighorn sheep.
  
  
• A proposal to change elk hunting unit boundaries and the way elk hunting authorizations are allocated to private landowners through the Department's E-PLUS system in Game Management Units 6A and 6C in the Jemez Mountains. The Commission will consider alternatives suggested in several public meetings, public comments, and a survey involving landowners, hunters, area businesses and other interests.

• A proposal to change rules for public access to Commission-owned properties and to the Gaining Access Into Nature program. Proposals include better defining access opportunities and fee requirements for specific wildlife areas.

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 Jim McClintic, Albuquerque; Vice-chairwoman Sandy Buffett, Santa Fe; M.H. “Dutch” Salmon, Silver City; Alfredo Montoya, Alcalde; Leo Sims, Hobbs; Tom Arvas, Albuquerque; and Kent Salazar, 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 Sonya Quintana, (505) 476-8030. Public documents, including the agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible forms.

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