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News2026-08-18T08:54:20-06:00

NMDOW News

For Hunter Education classes, please see Hunter Education Course Schedule and for the Hunter Educator Workshops schedule please see Hunter Educator Instructor.

2023-2024 Deer Hunting Forecast

Deer population growth is driven by adult doe and fawn survival. While adult doe survival is largely consistent across mule deer range, fawn survival varies by region and across years. The timing and amount of precipitation, coupled with habitat conditions, heavily influences fawn survival. Because of the influence of precipitation on fawn survival, most of New Mexico’s fawns are lost during the dry summer. New Mexico experiences regular periods of drought; because of this, the state’s deer populations are frequently below habitat carrying capacity. At least 2-3 consecutive years of timely summer rainfalls are necessary to increase populations. Drought may also impact deer distribution on the landscape; in arid regions, deer will travel up to 30 miles to take advantage of the sporadic precipitation events. This redistribution may appear as though populations have declined when in fact they are temporarily using a different part of the landscape to maximize [...]

Jan 15, 2023|

January 12 Commission Meeting Postponed

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: 888-248-6866Media contact, Darren Vaughan: 505-476-8027darren.vaughan@dgf.nm.gov FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JANUARY 11, 2023: January 12 Commission Meeting Postponed SANTA FE – The New Mexico State Game Commission meeting originally scheduled for  Thursday, January 12, in Santa Fe has been postponed due to an illness and family emergency. The department will issue a revised meeting notice once the meeting is rescheduled. At that time, the revised  agenda, location address, attendee information and additional information will be available on the Department of Game and Fish website. ###

Jan 11, 2023|

**CANCELED** Game Commission to meet Jan. 12

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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JAN. 6, 2023: **CANCELED** Game Commission to meet Jan. 12 The New Mexico State Game Commission will hold a meeting at 9 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 12, at State Records and Archives in Santa Fe. The full agenda, location address, attendee information and additional information are 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. More information, including how to join the meeting by phone, will be available on the Department's website. 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 [...]

Jan 6, 2023|

50th anniversary of Hunter Training Act

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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DEC. 29, 2022: 50th anniversary of Hunter Training Act SANTA FE – The state's first mandatory hunter education law — the Hunter Training Act — turned 50 this year. The act has served a major role in ensuring the safety of hunters and hunting activities since its inception. The New Mexico State Legislature passed the Hunter Training Act in 1972. This act allowed the State Game Commission to adopt regulations requiring all hunters born after Jan. 1, 1958 to complete a hunter education course and possess a certificate in order to hunt with or shoot a firearm. The law originally required hunter education in order to shoot a firearm under any circumstance, even in a supervised program or on a certified range. The law was amended in 1976 to limit [...]

Dec 29, 2022|

Monastery Lake closed to fishing due to unsafe ice conditions

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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DEC. 28, 2022: Monastery Lake closed to fishing due to unsafe ice conditions SANTA FE – Monastery Lake, near Pecos, has been closed to fishing until further notice due to unsafe ice conditions. Ice fishing is not allowed at the Benedictine Monastery lake that is leased through the Department’s Open Gate program. A layer of ice has formed on the lake, prompting the closure. The lake will reopen when there are sufficient open areas of water available to allow fishing from the bank. Anglers can find good winter trout fishing in the Albuquerque area drains, at Tingley Beach and at other fishing waters throughout the state. Visit our website for more information on trout species, the weekly fishing report, a list of convenient fishing locations and fish stocking reports.

Dec 28, 2022|

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