NMDGF Conservation News
The latest conservation news and press releases from New Mexico Game and Fish. Department-wide news can be found under Home → NMDGF News.
Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation
Following is a selected project highlight from the Share with Wildlife mission to assist all New Mexico wildlife in need, no matter what species. NMWC staff member works with bobcat education animal. (Ginny Seamster) Looking for a fun, educational family outing on a Saturday? Want to learn more about New Mexico’s wildlife? Have you found an injured or sick wild animal? The New Mexico Wildlife Center (NMWC) in Española can help. The Center has over 30 educational animals that you can see and learn about in self-guided tours. If you want more information about species habitats, adaptation, conservation, and biology, you can schedule a Raptor or Native Wildlife Program presentation for different age groups; all you have to do is call or email the Center. The Center also has a lovely native plant garden that they are continually working to expand and boasts many pollinator-friendly Cactus garden at [...]
Game and Fish investigates fish die off in Pecos River
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact, Tristanna Bickford: (505) 476-8027 tristanna.bickford@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPT. 25, 2018: Game and Fish investigates fish die off in Pecos River SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is investigating a fish die off in the upper Pecos River from the village of Pecos to Cowles. The die off is affecting brown and rainbow trout and is being attributed to stress induced by low water conditions and poor water quality throughout late summer and early fall. Most of the fish observed were adult brown trout and a few rainbow trout. The department expects more fish to die through the fall as brown trout undergo spawning stress and flows continue to be very low. Fish that are caught using legal fishing equipment are safe to consume; however, it is not recommended to [...]
Native fish restoration activity planned for Whitewater Creek
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact, Tristanna Bickford: (505) 476-8027 tristanna.bickford@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPT. 24, 2018: Native fish restoration activity planned for Whitewater Creek SANTA FE – Native fish restoration efforts on Whitewater Creek is scheduled for Oct. 10-21, 2018. As part of the Whitewater Creek Native Fish Restoration Project, the department will remove non-native trout from Whitewater Creek to allow restoration of Gila trout and other native fish to their historic range. This portion of the project starts at the Gila National Forest boundary below the Catwalk National Recreation Trail parking area and continues upstream to the headwaters. The department will apply rotenone based products – CFT Legumine® and Prentox® Rotenone Fish Toxicant Powder™ – to the stream to remove non-native salmonids. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that rotenone is highly effective for removal of fish and [...]
Finding a Needle in a Haystack
Following is a selected project highlight from the Share with Wildlife mission to assist all New Mexico wildlife in need, no matter what species. Desert shrubland habitat in the bootheel. (Ginny Seamster) How do you track down nests and nestlings of a bird that lives in a remote, desert environment, looks very similar to a closely-related species, and is highly secretive? Further, how do you do all of this when very little is known about the timing of the bird’s breeding season and how long it takes for the eggs to be incubated and the nestlings to leave the nest? Using funding from the Share with Wildlife program, Dr. Martha Desmond and her graduate student, Allison Salas, from New Mexico State University are helping biologists at New Mexico Department of Game and Fish answer these questions for the Bendire’s thrasher. Allison and her team of field technicians have [...]
Translocation of desert bighorn sheep into Sacramento Mountains topic for public meeting
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact, Tristanna Bickford: (505) 476-8027 tristanna.bickford@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPT. 4, 2018: Translocation of desert bighorn sheep into Sacramento Mountains topic for public meeting SANTA FE – The Department of Game and Fish is seeking public comment on a proposed translocation of desert bighorn sheep to the Sacramento Mountains. The department is proposing to re-establish desert bighorn sheep in the Sacramento Mountains in the autumn of 2018. This species has been absent from these mountains for nearly a century. To gather public comments, a meeting will be conducted in Alamogordo starting at 6 p.m. Sept. 19. The meeting will be held at the Otero County Administration Building in Room 221, located at 1101 New York Avenue, Alamogordo, NM 88310. ###