Enforcement News

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact: Information Center, (888) 248-6866 Media contact: Karl Moffatt, (505) 476-8007 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, ARPIL 11, 2016: Expect roadblocks statewide during fishing and hunting seasons SANTA FE – The Department of Game and Fish will conduct roadblocks throughout the state during the hunting and fishing seasons to collect harvest data and to detect wildlife law violations. The 2016-17 fishing season began April 1. Youth turkey hunting season began April 8 and the general season begins April 15. For more information, please consult the department's fishing or hunting Rules & Information booklets available at www.wildlife.state.nm.us or at area offices and license vendors. At roadblocks, conservation officers also will check for compliance with the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act and the Aquatic Invasive Species Control Act. Drivers of vehicles hauling wood products will be asked to produce documentation as required by the Forest Conservation [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact: Karl Moffatt: (505) 476-8007 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 6, 2016: Department seeking next generation of conservation officers SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is seeking qualified men and women to join the next generation of conservation officers who protect and conserve the state’s natural resources. Applications for game warden trainees with salaries starting at $17.03 an hour will be accepted by the New Mexico State Personnel Office until June 5, 2016. Please visit www.wildlife.state.nm.us to learn more about the position and how to apply. Prior law enforcement experience is not required, but successful applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree in a related field such as fisheries or wildlife biology, forestry or criminal justice. Please visit www.wildlife.state.nm.us for a complete list of qualifying degrees. Candidates [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact: Karl Moffatt: (505) 476-8007 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, APRIL 1, 2016: Department seeks information about poached antelope near Raton, Clayton RATON – Department of Game and Fish conservation officers are seeking information regarding a suspected illegal killing of a buck pronghorn antelope sometime Wednesday, March 30, between Raton and Clayton. A Pueblo, Colo., game warden notified New Mexico officers Wednesday that he had stopped a truck in Pueblo and discovered a freshly killed, partially gutted pronghorn in the truck’s bed, with blood dripping out of the vehicle. The four suspects, traveling in a silver Chevrolet 2500 four-door pickup with a black bed cover and Colorado license plates, had checked out of an Amarillo, Texas, hotel earlier that morning, leading officers to suspect they shot the pronghorn somewhere between Clayton and Raton, a common route from [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact: Karl Moffatt: (505) 476-8007 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, March 16, 2016: New Mexico game warden recognized as Officer of the Year by Shikar Safari Club International Curtis Coburn SANTA FE - Shikar Safari Club International has named New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Corporal Curtis Coburn the 2015 New Mexico Wildlife Conservation Officer of the Year. Coburn received the award at the department’s second annual Governor’s Special Hunt Auction and Award Banquet on Feb. 20 in Albuquerque. Coburn, 35, currently is stationed in Ruidoso. He is a 12-year veteran of the department and holds a bachelor’s degree in Forest/Wildlife Management from Western New Mexico University in Silver City. Shikar Safari Club International annually presents awards to wildlife law enforcement officers in all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces and territories. The club is dedicated [...]

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Dan Williams, (505) 476-8004 Public contact: (888) 248-6866 dan.williams@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DEC. 1, 2015: $3,000 IN REWARDS OFFERED IN REFUGE ELK POACHING LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Department of Game and Fish and Las Vegas, N.M., area landowners, businesses and residents are offering $3,000 in rewards for information leading to the poachers who killed two bull elk and left them to rot at Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge. “It is outrageous and unacceptable that someone would kill these animals and leave them to waste,” said Rob Larrañaga, refuge manager. “These criminals stole two prized elk that could have been harvested in a youth hunt being planned by the refuge.” The elk were discovered Nov. 20 in an area of the refuge also used by hikers, birders and photographers. Conservation officers determined that both elk had been [...]