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News2025-04-17T11:13:33-06:00

NMDGF News

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Video Series Premiere – Drawing Your Way to Success!

Video Series Premiere - Drawing Your Way to Success! Join New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Communications Director Darren Vaughan and Licensing Operations Manager Chad Nelson as they discuss the ins and outs of the 2023-2024 Big Game Draw in the first video of the department’s “Drawing Your Way to Success” series. The video will premiere at 5 p.m. MST Friday, Jan. 20 on YouTube at https://youtu.be/IYFnzBK28oU. The video will be available from this date forward for you to watch at your convenience. We will be premiering additional videos to help you throughout the draw season. The deadline for Draw 1 (bear and turkey) is Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. MST, and the deadline for Draw 2 (Barbary sheep, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, ibex, javelina, pronghorn, oryx, and private-land only deer licenses in Units 2A, 2B, 2C, 4 and 5A) is March 22 at 5 p.m. MST. Good luck! [...]

Game Commission to meet Jan. 27

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: 888-248-6866 Media contact, Darren Vaughan: 505-476-8027 darren.vaughan@dgf.nm.gov Game Commission to meet Jan. 27 The New Mexico State Game Commission will hold a virtual meeting starting at 9 a.m., Friday, Jan. 27. The full agenda, attendee information and additional information will be available on the Department of Game and Fish website.  If you are interested in participating in the meeting and providing comments, you are encouraged to pre-register to attend the meeting on the Zoom Webinar platform. Participants can attend the virtual meeting using a desktop computer, mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, or by telephone. In addition, there will be a live webcast on the Department’s website for those who wish to only view or listen to the meeting.   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 [...]

2023-2024 Turkey Hunting Forecast

Turkey populations appear to be entering a period of decline in New Mexico after several years of breeding-season drought. Turkey populations are highly influenced by precipitation and such a decline is anticipated given the drought; numbers respond quickly when the rains return. Spring moisture is important to create food sources for chicks, which need forbs (leafy plants) and insects for survival. Statewide drought conditions make it likely that turkey production has been low in each of the regions. Adult turkeys typically have low mortality rates, with fair mast crops and generally mild winters leading to decent overwinter survival. Some local areas still have very strong numbers of birds, but statewide, numbers appear to be down. Hunter harvest-success rates are never very high in New Mexico. Overall spring hunter harvest success rates from 2019-2021 ranged from 21% to 26%. Turkey license sales have increased during the past five years, resulting [...]

Pronóstico de caza del pavo 2023-2024

Las poblaciones de pavos parecen estar entrando en un período de disminución en Nuevo México después de varios años de sequía en la temporada reproductiva. Las poblaciones de pavos están mus influenciadas por las precipitaciones y se anticipa tal disminución dada la sequía; los números responden rápidamente cuando vuelven las lluvias. La humedad primaveral es importante para crear fuentes de alimento para los pavitos, que necesitan plantas frondosas e insectos para sobrevivir. Las condiciones de sequía en todo el estado hacen probable que la producción de pavo haya sido baja en cada una de las regiones. Los pavos adultos suelen tener bajas tasas de mortalidad, con cosechas de mástil aceptables e inviernos generalmente templados que conducen a una supervivencia decente durante el invierno. Algunas áreas locales todavía tienen un gran número de aves, pero en todo el estado, el número parece haber disminuido. Las tasas de éxito de la [...]

2023-2024 Pronghorn Hunting Forecast

New Mexico offers world-class pronghorn hunting opportunities throughout the state and is considered a premier hunting destination with many trophy bucks harvested throughout the years. In 2021, the latest data available, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish sold 6,857 licenses resulting in 4,655 bucks and 282 does harvested. Average reported hunt success, across all weapons and license types, was 70%. Annual success rates for pronghorn hunts in New Mexico typically range from 70-80%. Pronghorn population trends are largely driven by survival rates of adult females and fawns. Precipitation and predation impact pronghorn populations greatly. The department monitors pronghorn herds using a combination of aerial fixed-wing surveys and hunter harvest reports to provide meaningful population and harvest management recommendations. Fawn-to-doe ratios are used to monitor population productivity and trajectory, and buck-to-doe ratios help determine hunting opportunities. Poorly timed and confined rainfall throughout most pronghorn distributions have led to [...]

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