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Game Commission to meet July 21

SANTA FE – The New Mexico State Game Commission will hold a meeting at 9 a.m., Friday, July 21, 2023, in the Hunter Education Classroom at the NMDGF Northwest Area Office; 7816 Alamo Rd. NW; Albuquerque, New Mexico 87120. The full agenda, location details, attendee information and general information will be available on the Department of Game and Fish website. If you are interested in participating and providing comments, but cannot attend the meeting in person, you are encouraged to pre-register to attend the meeting on the Zoom Webinar platform. In addition, there will be a live webcast on the Department’s website. Webcast participants can listen to the meeting using a desktop computer or mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. If you are an individual with a disability who needs a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the meeting, please [...]

Bear and Cougar Rule topic of public meetings

SANTA FE – The Department of Game and Fish is seeking public comment on proposed revisions to the Bear and Cougar Rule (19.31.11 NMAC), which opened at the State Game Commission meeting on April 28, 2023.  For bear, the Department is seeking input on harvest limits, zone boundaries and season start dates. Additionally, the Department is proposing increasing the number of draw permits for some fall hunts and allowing deer or elk hunters who draw wildlife management area hunts to harvest a bear or cougar during their hunt if the zone is open and they possess a bear and/or cougar license.   For cougar, the Department is seeking input on adjusting harvest limits in Cougar Management Zones based on recent research.   The Department is also seeking input on changing zone closure requirements when closing a zone based on the female harvest limit such that zones close when the female harvest limit is reached.  To gather [...]

Youth Encouragement Elk License sale begins July 12

SANTA FE – New Mexico resident youth hunters who applied and were unsuccessful in the 2023-2024 big-game draw are eligible to purchase one of nearly 1,900 antlerless elk licenses. The licenses will go on sale through the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish’s Online License System starting at 10 a.m. MDT July 12. The sale is designed to encourage unsuccessful youth draw applicants and includes 1,570 licenses for any legal sporting arm and 390 licenses for muzzleloader, crossbow or bow. Licenses will be sold online only on a first-come, first-served basis. To purchase a license, customers will need to log into their Online License System account. Eligibility and requirements: For the first 14 days, the sale is open only to resident youth who have applied in the current license year for one or more draw hunts for deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, Barbary sheep, oryx or ibex and were not [...]

Leftover draw licenses on sale June 28

SANTA FE – A total of 564 deer licenses not issued during the 2023-2024 big-game draw will go on sale at 10 a.m. MDT June 28, through the Department’s Online License System. New Mexico residents will get first shot at the licenses for the first 24 hours of the first-come, first-served sale. If any licenses remain after the first 24 hours, the sale will be opened to nonresidents at 10 a.m. June 29. Important note for youth hunters: Because these are draw licenses, purchasing a license will render youth hunters ineligible to purchase a youth encouragement elk license for the first 14 days of the upcoming sale in July. To buy a leftover license, hunters must possess a 2023-2024 Game Hunting or Game Hunting and Fishing license. Hunters may buy the Game Hunting license, the Habitat Stamp and the Habitat Management Access Validation by logging into their account and clicking the Over-The-Counter (OTC) [...]

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Nominations sought for wildlife conservation awards

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Karl Moffatt, (505) 476-8007 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JAN. 11, 2016: Nominations sought for wildlife conservation awards SANTA FE -  The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is soliciting nominations for its inaugural Excellence in Wildlife Conservation awards to be presented Feb. 20 at the Governor’s Special Hunt Auction & Banquet at Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque. The awards are in recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions to wildlife conservation in New Mexico. The public is invited to submit nominations in the following categories: Governor’s Conservationist Lifetime Achievement Award The Governor’s Conservationist Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a distinguished individual who has made a contribution of lasting significance to the benefit of New Mexico’s wildlife. Nominees should be individuals whose lifelong efforts have been dedicated to conserving New Mexico’s wildlife for future generations. Commissioner’s Wildlife Conservation Partnership Award The Commissioner’s Wildlife Conservation [...]

New 2016-2017 hunting rules and information booklet available

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Karl Moffatt, (505) 476-8007 Public contact: Customer service (888)-248-6866 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Jan. 6, 2015: New 2016-2017 hunting rules and information booklet available SANTA FE – Rules and information about applying for 2016-2017 hunting licenses is now available online at www.wildlife.state.nm.us. Printed versions of the 2016-2017 hunting rules and information booklet will be available at license vendors and Game and Fish Department area offices soon. The booklet includes information hunters need to apply for and purchase big-game, furbearer and upland game licenses and permits. Hunters are encouraged to review season dates, application deadlines and other information before applying for licenses or going afield. The department will begin accepting online applications at 8 a.m. Jan. 13. The application deadline for bear and turkey permits is Feb.10. The application deadline for big-game licenses is 5 p.m. March 23. Hunters need to [...]

Game Commission meet Jan. 14 in Santa Fe

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Karl Moffatt, (505) 476-8007 Public contact: Customer Service (888) 248-6866 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Jan. 4, 2016: Game Commission to meet Jan. 14 in Santa Fe SANTA FE – The New Mexico Game Commission will meet Jan. 14 in Santa Fe to consider numerous matters, including proposed changes to the Aquatic Invasive Species rule designed to prevent the spread of destructive zebra or quagga mussels to the state. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 14, 2015, in the Santa Fe Community College boardroom, 6401 Richards Ave., in Santa Fe. Other agenda items include: Initial proposed dates and bag limits for migratory birds for the 2016-2017 hunting seasons. Consideration of the department’s plan to verify the active duty or veteran status of those seeking a 50 percent discount on licenses, permits and stamps as required under a newly enacted [...]

Public help sought to protect big bucks during breeding season

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Karl Moffatt, (505) 476-8007 Public contact: (888) 248-6866 karl.moffatt@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DEC. 14, 2015: PUBLIC HELP SOUGHT TO PROTECT BIG BUCKS DURING BREEDING SEASON SANTA FE -  The Department of Game and Fish is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying poachers preying upon big bucks during the ongoing mule deer breeding season. “Bucks in the rut are easy targets for opportunistic poachers,” said Bobby Griego, colonel of Field Operations for the department. “We’re asking the public to keep an eye out for our wildlife and report any suspicious activity.” The mule deer breeding season in northern New Mexico is in full swing and deer can be found congregating in easily accessible areas where wildlife watchers, photographers and others can observe them. It is also the time of year that game wardens find many illegally slain bucks minus their heads and [...]

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