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Free Fishing Day Saturday, September 24

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, SEPT. 22, 2016: Free fishing this Saturday SANTA FE – Fishing is free, no license required, this Saturday, Sept. 24, on all public waters in New Mexico. Residents and nonresidents can fish without a license, but must abide by all other fishing rules and regulations. Please visit www.wildlife.state.nm.us for the 2016-2017 Fishing Rules and Information booklet. For information about where to fish and what to use, consult the department’s weekly fishing and stocking report. Maps of public fishing waters, lists of where to find family-friendly fishing and tips on how to fish also can be found on the department website. For more information, please contact the department’s Information Center, (888) 248-6866.   ###

Leftover sandhill crane and pheasant hunt permits available Sept. 21

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, SEPT. 19, 2016: Leftover sandhill crane and pheasant hunt permits available Sept. 21 SANTA FE – Leftover sandhill crane and pheasant hunting permits will be available for sale at 10 a.m. MDT Sept. 21 on the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish website. Available permits are: One, youth-only, pheasant hunting permit for the Bernardo Wildlife Area on Oct. 22. Nine, youth-only, pheasant hunting permits for the W.S. Huey Wildlife Management Area on Dec. 3. Forty-three sandhill crane hunting permits for the southwest hunt area from Oct. 29 to Nov. 6. Fifteen sandhill crane hunting permits for the southwest hunt Jan. 7 and 8, 2017. Customers purchasing leftover permits must have a game-hunting license and stamp(s) prior to hunting. Crane hunters also must have a Harvest Information [...]

Chronic wasting disease found in McGregor Range deer

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact: Lance Cherry: (505) 476-8003 lance.cherry@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPT. 19, 2016: Chronic wasting disease found in McGregor Range deer SANTA FE – Five deer harvested in the McGregor Range area of southern New Mexico during the 2015-16 hunting season have tested positive for chronic wasting disease, the Department of Game and Fish announced. Hunters who harvested those deer have been notified of the test results. Forty hunters who drew licenses for 2016-17 hunts on the range will be notified and advised of procedures to present their harvested deer for testing. First discovered in New Mexico in 2002, chronic wasting disease has only been found in the state’s southern hunting units. To date, 42 deer and 8 elk have tested positive for the disease. Tissue samples were obtained from hunters who presented their harvest for testing, [...]

State list of threatened and endangered species available for public comment

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, SEPT. 2, 2016: State list of threatened and endangered species available for public comment SANTA FE – The Department of Game and Fish is seeking public comment on proposed revisions to the Biennial Review of the status of all state-listed, threatened and endangered wildlife species. The Biennial Review process determines whether a state-listed wildlife species should maintain its current status or be moved from threatened to endangered or endangered to threatened. Adding or removing species from the state list is a separate process. Listing decisions are based on biological and ecological factors. Social, economic and political considerations noted during the review can be considered in the implementation of conservation and recovery actions after the species is listed. The Wildlife Conservation Act contains no provisions for critical habitat, [...]

Bass fingerlings stocked at Elephant Butte and other lakes

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, SEPT. 2, 2016: Bass fingerlings stocked at Elephant Butte and other lakes ELEPHANT BUTTE – The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish recently stocked over 100,000 fingerling bass in Elephant Butte Lake and put another 80,000 in numerous lakes around the state. The young bass were obtained from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park’s Miles City Fish Hatchery, said Kevin Gardner, warmwater fisheries supervisor for the department. Some of the largemouth bass were stocked in Alto Lake near Ruidoso, where it is expected they will grow to prey upon an unwanted population of discarded goldfish living there. They also will provide anglers with improved fishing opportunities in the area, Gardner said. An estimated 6,200 bass from the same shipment went to Bill Evans Lake, another 20,000 [...]

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