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, OCT. 20, 2016:

Meeting scheduled on proposed Rio Chama catch-and-release fishing section

HERON LAKE – The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has scheduled a public meeting from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Heron Lake State Park Visitor Center to discuss a proposal designating 3.5 miles of the Rio Chama below El Vado Dam as a catch-and-release water with tackle restrictions.

The proposal stems from public comments received about the department’s recently updated statewide fisheries management plan. The proposal and plan can be viewed and comments submitted on the department’s website, http://wildlife.dgf.nm.gov/commission/proposals-under-consideration/.

Department staff will provide information about the proposal at the meeting and accept comments for consideration by the State Game Commission at an upcoming meeting.

The 1.5-mile stretch of the river just below the dam and flowing past Cooper’s El Vado Ranch would not be affected by the proposed rule change.

For more information, please contact Kirk Patten, the department’s assistant chief of fisheries, (505) 476-8054 or kirk.patten@state.nm.us.

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