The New Mexico Sportsman

NM Dept of Game and Fish Commission Meeting!!!

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:56:34 +0000

WOW!!!! What a weekend… Well, originally the plan was to head back to AZ to see if I could stick a Coues deer but my good friends Holly and Darrell Tow called and asked if I wanted to go to the Game and Fish Commission meeting in ABQ. So I said,”Sure”. So we headed to ABQ on Friday evening. Well, we got to the hotel late and crashed…. Good thing we did because it was a LONG Saturday.

There were several issues that were going to be discussed but the ones that I was most interested in were the Antelope,Bear and Cougar proposals..

SOOO… The Dept presented it’s plans for Bear and Cougar management and to me it all seemed pretty reasonable. Basically, the populations are either increasing or stable. They want to increase hunter opportunity and use hunters to help manage the predation and animal-to-human contact.

A couple of thoughts

They proposed a Spring Bear hunt where dogs wouldn’t be allowed. ALL GOOD!!!!
There are a TON of Bear Loving groups out there… That is ALL GOOD, I was just a little supervised
The Dept wants to stabilize the predator population so they are increasing the total harvest but they are encouraging the taking of males. If you know anything about predator biology the males are the ones that keep the numbers of predators in check. The biggest predator to a Lion is a male Lion… Those are just the facts, so by taking more males the populations may acutally increase. In all of the meetings NOBODY is saying that…. It is ALL PR!!!
Some groups have proposed that they relocate bears that end up in ABQ. Ok… So where do we put them? In areas, that already have a bears in them? I read a study that 80% of bears that are relocated die because they are killed by “local” bears or die on the highways trying to get back to there home range..
Overall, I think it is a good plan given the data set that we have. On a personal note, I have picked up more bears on my trail cams that ever before… Something is happening…

NOW THE GOAT ISSUE…

This was the topic that everybody was waiting to hear… The plan is that the Dept was going to present the Commission with several options… 1 -3…. Well It started out as 1-3 then at the last moment the Dept tacked on 3A, 3B, 3C and I think 3D. Why??? Not sure but it sure confused the issue and IMO it did nothing but confuse the issue and it looked like someone was trying to water down the sportsman vote. Anyway, the views were presented. So public comment was opened(kind of), it looked like the ranchers/LO/Guides and all those making money off the tags were split between option 1 and 2. Or a system like E-plus but still 50% of tags going to NR or No Change… Sportsman were pretty much behind Option 3. WITH ONE BIG EXCEPTION!!! Sportsman for Wildlife or SFW really sold us out… They were clearly on the side of the RANCHERS and supported Option #1. As a personal observation, If you looked at the room and saw who talked to who and the entire dynamics it was pretty obvious that SFW isn’t going to support sportsman on this issue. Oh well, it is what it is but until they fight for us on this issue I will not support or endorse them.

A couple of thoughts

I tried to engage Rep. Ezell in a conversation and she was extremely rude and condescending…. Not only was I disappointed by her stance on the issue but she was just OUT OF CONTROL… She walked around like she owned the place, and barged her way into the “comments” period. By the end of the meeting people were referring to her as the “devil”. I wonder how much money she gets for her tags, I had heard rumor that she gets a proportionately higher number of tags for her ranches… I wish someone would look into that. AGAIN I can’t substantiate ANY OF THAT BUT…..
We are in for a long fight…. I just don’t know how they are going to vote….

SO… It was great to be part of the process, sportsman are in for a long, hard fight… We just need to make this right….

NOTE:

I just heard that the Dept is going to push the decision date back … NICE!!!! I guess they are getting a ton of heat. I wonder if this commission will vote before they get replaced by the new Governor.

Jason

Opening weekend in AZ!!!!

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:38:45 +0000

Hmm… Where to start??? Well, the hunt started with rain, and ended with rain… The area that I am focusing on has a nice tank but right now sitting that tank would just be a waste of time. Coues deer barely drink to start with but with this much rain these deer are drinking out of every little dip in the dirt.

Unlike in NM, in AZ it is legal to bait deer. It is what it is… Those are just the rules of the game in AZ and believe me, my eyes have really been opened over the last few months. Just about every ridge that I have seen has some sort of mineral lick. If the hunters don’t get the deer they are certainly going to die of heart disease. Another thing that is different in AZ is that even though you draw a rifle tag you can still hunt the archery season. If you happen to kill during the archery season than you forfeit your rifle tag. I guess the cool thing is that hunters are given more days afield, the bad thing is that you have EVERYBODY hunting during the archery season. I have never seen soooooo many people cruising the roads looking for deer and coming from NM that means A LOT.

So the plan was to sit in a travel corridor and and get a shot a buck. Pretty easy right. Well the problem is that with this much feed and water these deer don’t need to move. I am hoping that the pressure from other hunters will get these deer moving.

So… Who is on the hit list? I have picked up a few different deer in the area but nothing exciting.. But if this guys comes thru we are gonna have some words…

He probably goes mid-80′s. Nothing to wild but he is definitely a mature buck.

Oh yah… I am still being chased by bears… Man, I have seen more bears this year than I have EVER seen…

Anyway, stay tuned… I am going to try and make it out again next week.

Oh yah, in a day and a half of hunting…. Two Does…

The Chavez Girls Represent!!!!!

admin — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:38:34 +0000

I love stories like this…

Mr. Chavez sent me this story about his girls..

GREAT STUFF!!!

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Let me begin by introducing myself, Tom Chavez and the stars of my story, my daughter’s DeAndra (Doj) and Erika Chavez. To begin, my daughters ages are Doj 16 and Erika 15. The photos attached are of their 09 Cow Elk Youth Encouragement Hunt in Unit 53. Both girls are accomplished hunters, Doj has 1 bull elk, 1 cow elk, 1 muley buck and 1 antelope buck under her belt. Erika has 1 cow elk, 1 antelope buck, 1 muley buck and 1 OLT Oryx to her name. I enrolled them together in the NM Hunter’s Safety course at ages 11 & 10. Over the past 5 years, as you can tell we have been rather successful in their hunting careers.

Having not drawn any tags for the 09 season, my girls were fortunate to be able to receive ES elk tags under the new Youth Encouragement hunts. Although the time of year, Dec, was extremely cold, -17, the first morning out, we were able to get within 75yds of a bachelor group of bulls, 9 of them in all. We were set up in the sage flats north of Questa and watching the bulls as they made their way to their bedding areas. As the bulls approached, I had both girls set up on bi-pods kneeling in the sage. As the bulls got closer I could feel the excitement in both girls as they scanned for the bulls in their scopes. Trying to maintain my composure was not easy when I was asking both of them if they could find the bull they wanted and make sure they weren’t both targeting the same bull. As luck would have it, the clouds began to break and we were set up facing directly East so the sun prevented them from being able to find anything in their scopes!! Chalk that mistake up to dad. With the intnese cold, and sitting out in the sage for over an hour all my girls wanted was the truck and a drive to the Pendleton Station for hot chocolate. That evening we went back out and found the herd but they weren’t coming off private land so we just watched with the spotting scopes from the truck. Knowing the herd would be on forest land in the morning we were back first thing in the morning. With low cloud cover we couldn’t see a thing! The girls began to get antsy and started bugging for their morning hot chocolate, just as I was to give in, our hunting partner, Sancho, spotted the herd about 500-600 yds out and the clouds were beginning to lift. I knew a back road that would put us out in front of the herds route and we quickly skirted around them. As we got to where we wanted to be, we saw the lead cow coming across the sage flat right towards us. We set up both girls on an H-post and had both of them start looking for elk in their scopes. This was a group of cows and calves with one fork antlered bull, of course they both wanted to take the bull!! Being that Doj was the oldest and hadn’t hunted the year before she got the draw of taking the bull if she had the chance. As the herd got within 175yds, the little bull would not get out fo the middle of the herd. As Erika said that she was on a small cow and ready, Doj couldn’t handle the pressure of waiting for the bull and chose to sight in on a cow herself. When they both told me they were on them and ready, I let out a few cow calls and stopped the herd. I didn’t even have time to tell them to take their time, when BOOM – BOOM, BOOM -BOOM, they both fired two rounds at the cows they had chosen! Talk about a rush and fiasco while I was trying to spot where and what they had shot at. Luckily, I had been watching Doj’s cow and Sancho was watching Erika’s. Doj’s cow staggered and fell then regained her feet and fled away from the herd, Erika’s cow came running back and away from us and the herd. We decided that I would go with Doj to track her cow and Sancho and Erika would go after hers. We tracked Doj’s elk about 50yds from where we last saw her, Doj’s .243 wssm had taken her through the ribcage on the first shot and back leg on the second, chalk up another kill for Doj. As we were looking at Doj’s elk we heard Erika’s .243wssm bark one last time, she had connected on her first shot a little back and needed a finishing shot through the neck at 75yds! We were able to get pretty close to retrieve them so the task wasn’t too bad, but as their PROUD Daddy, I would have drug and packed for 100 miles if need be.

I have three girls and have always heard the old addage, a man needs a boy to continue his legacy, well I’ve yet to see any of my friends boys shoot, gut and cut as well as my girls can!!

Tom Chavez

AZ Thieves, Dry Springs and Cages!!!!

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 05:22:31 +0000

I guess there is no other way of saying it… My camera was stolen in AZ, I have had cameras all over NM for years and I have never had a camera stolen. I leave one out for 3 weeks in AZ and someone steals it. If it isn’t yours keep your dang hands off of it. From what I can tell it is acceptable behavior to steal cameras in AZ. I just don’t understand!!!! It does drive me that much harder… I will kill a deer in AZ…

SOOO on our trip Cisco and I were planning on finding a spring that I had found on one map… This little spring was only on one of the software packages that I use so it was going be a little honey hole that nobody knew about or it was going to be DRY!!! The spring was about 3 miles in the backcountry. We would have to bushwhack thru a lot of country but it might be worth the hike.

Once we got to the spring we would find a high-point were we could glass the area for game, setup camp and enjoy the the wilderness. Well that didn’t happen, when we got to the spring we found a WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING… It was dry as a bone. Here is a picture of the area where the spring should be coming out of the hill.

So we had two options; stick around and glass some not so promising country or “Let’er Buck” and head back to the truck and do some more scouting in a different area. Well, the determining factor was that we were LOW on water…. I mean LOW LOW.. We wouldn’t have enough water to drink and make dinner… So we bailed.

But we took this cool little picture first…

SOOO… I loaded my 70lb pack and off went…

Here is a picture of some of the scenery…

BIG COUNTRY!!!!

How about a fried Cisco Kid???

Well we made it back…. Thank God I always carry 7 gallons of water in the diesel. It made life a lot easier… So we setup camp and crashed.

The night was pretty uneventful, Cisco didn’t even run around all night… It start raining so Cisco crawled in the tent and crashed out.

SOOOO the next morning we were off to find another little saddle and tank. Now this is where things got strange, we came across a cage or serious corral of some sort. Look at these pictures. This cage was really meant to keep something in… Wolves maybe????

Swinging Gate????

This thing is no joke!

After exploring this little area for awhile we took off to find our little spring… Well we found a wet spot… I bet this will hold some water after a few rain showers.

So that was our 2nd scouting trip in AZ. I always try to not dwell on the negative so I will just chalk up the camera getting stolen to some dirt bag that is going to be cursed on there next hunting trip. I am not sure when I will be able to get back into this area but the season starts in a few weeks. I want to hunt the later part of the hunt so I dont have to deal with the monsoons and the antlers will hopefully not be balled up so much. We will see….

Take Care.

Jason

A-Plus Proposals… Are out..

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:19:47 +0000

Okay by now you guys know that I pretty much don’t care what people think… I call it like I see it… Well, Game and Fish tried to pull a fast one.. Seriously… The original idea was that G and F was going to have several options for us to look at.. We started with 6 but then last night only 2 showed up… Option 2 – Do Nothing Option 1- make A-Plus like E-Plus. This wouldn’t do ANYTHING to help resolve the issues of NR getting 73% of the tags… It looked like we were in a no-win situation…. I WAS PISSED.. I was wondering why we went thru all of this drama….

So this morning I started calling people trying to figure out what happened, I called everybody I could think of and everybody had seen the same thing… Well, as the morning progressed NMWF called and said…”Guess what, we have a third option” it is a full draw… I would love to dig to the bottom of all of this and I have some ideas but it isn’t my place to let the cat out of the bag.

STUFF LIKE THIS IS EXACTLY WHY NOBODY TRUST’S GAME AND FISH….

So follow this LINK to get the summary!!!!

SO… If you ask me OPTION 3 is the only option… FULL DRAW!!!!!

IMPORTANT GAME AND FISH MEETINGS!!!!

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:59:53 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JULY 28, 2010:

MEETINGS WILL ADDRESS PROPOSED HUNTING RULES FOR BEARS, COUGARS, ANTELOPE

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is conducting public meetings and requesting comments on hunting and licensing rules for bears, cougars, antelope and deer that will be presented to the State Game Commission this year.

The proposed rules are available for review on the Department Web site, www.wildlife.state.nm.us. Pronghorn, bear and cougar management will be discussed at public meetings statewide before final recommendations are presented to the Game Commission on Aug. 28. To review proposals for cougar, bear and deer hunting, and proposed changes to the Antelope Public Lands Use System, please visit the Department Web site under the “Issues and Answers” tab.

Comments can be mailed to New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Wildlife Management Division, P.O. Box 25112, Santa Fe, NM 87504; or e-mailed to nmdept.ofgameandfish@state.nm.us.

Public meetings:

Northwest Area

Aug. 3: Tierra Amarilla, Rio Arriba County Complex, Building 149, Commission Chambers, N.M. 531 and N.M. 162, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Aug. 4: Farmington, Farmington Civic Center, 200 W. Arrington St., 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Aug. 4: Estancia, Torrance County Administrative Building, Commission Room, 205 Ninth St, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Aug. 5: Albuquerque, Department of Game and Fish office, 3841 Midway Place NE, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Northeast Area

Aug. 3: Raton, Department of Game and Fish office, 215 York Canyon Road, 6-9 p.m.
Aug. 5: Clayton, National Guard Armory, 323 S. Third St., 6-9 p.m.
Aug. 10: Roy, Harding County Community Center, 557 Wagon Mound Highway, 6-9 p.m.
Aug. 12: Taos, Juan Gonzales Agricultural Center, 202 Chamisa Road, 6-9 p.m.
Aug. 17: Tucumcari, Convention Center, Liberty Room, 1500 W. Route 66 Blvd., 6-9 p.m.
Aug. 19: Las Vegas, Highlands University, Leveo Sanchez Lecture Hall, 6-9 p.m.

Southwest Area

Aug. 14: Las Cruces, Department of Game and Fish office, 2715 Northrise Dr., 1-4 p.m.
Aug. 16: Silver City, Grant County Business & Conference Center (old Wal-Mart), U.S. 180 and 32^nd St., 6-9 p.m.
Aug. 17: Socorro, City Council Chambers, 111 School of Mines Road, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Southeast Area

Aug. 2: Carlsbad, U.S. Bureau of Land Management office, 620 Greene St., 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Aug. 3: Ruidoso, U.S. Forest Service district office, 901 Mechem, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Aug. 5: Roswell, Department of Game and Fish office, 1912 W. Second St., 5:30-7:30 p.m.

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All about the Martinez Family!!!

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:37:37 +0000

Hey Guys… I love it when people send me stories like this… Vinny and I met about 10 years ago. I was leaving the office one day and some dude was showing off some deer he had killed, it was Vinny… Ever since then we have been buds..

Anyway, He recently was telling me about a fishing trip he took wit the family and I asked him to have the boys write something up for me.. sooo here it is…

Jason

===========================================================

My name is Elijah, I just turned 8 on July 16. My parents, my brother Zachary and I went to Red River for the 4th of July . I love to go because the parade, and playing on the playground near the convention center is fun. The fireworks at Eagle Nest Lake is loud and bright! We like to fish at Red River city pond. My grandparents stayed in a rental cabin that we visited, and they have a cool small pond. My grandpa asked us if we want go fishing and we said yes, so we went over. My dad fixed the hook for me, with a sinker and a bobber. I know how to put bait on the hook. I can cast the line into pond and I used the red fireballs. I waited till I saw the bobber go down, then up, then down again. I pulled my rod up hard and there is a fish on the hook, so I reeled it in real fast. It’s hard to reel because it’s a big fish so my dad helped me hold the rod and I reeled it in. My dad pulled rod up, and pulled the fish out of the pond. It’s big! My fish was 17 inches. We were all happy. We caught 5 fish all together. My dad didn’t fish because he is happy to watch me and my brother catch the big fish.

My name is Zachary. I am 6 years old. I love to go fishing with my brother Elijah, my dad and mom. We go to Red River every year for the 4th of July and camp for 4 days. I like to run and get candy at the parade, play on the playground, especially climb the rock wall and slide. We go to Eagle Nest Lake at night to watch fireworks. There are cool colors. My dad helped me put a hook, a sinker and a small yellow/orange bobber so I can watch if it goes down under water to let me know the that fish bit my bait. My grandparents stayed at a cabin that has a pond where there are big fish. I told my dad I saw a big fish. I told my dad to hurry up so I can catch the fish. I put worms on it that my dad dug from our backyard. The bobber went under the water and it didn’t come up so I reeled it fast but it was hard to reel, so I told my dad to help me and my dad held the rod while I reeled, and my dad pulled out the line with a big fish. I grabbed the fish, and yelled “big fish”. I was so happy. My dad measured it and it was 18 inch fish. We had fun fishing at that pond. My brother caught 3 and I caught 2. I love to go fishing with my dad.

Our family always makes a 4th of July trip to Red River, NM, our 8th annual trip. We got married on 4th of July 1998. it is our 12th anniversary. Hopefully we’ll keep our traditional trip every year. We stay at different places and make reservations ahead of time, even a year ahead. We do like to stay in River Ranch Rv park. They have full hook ups, (TV and Microwave) haha, which is good for us.. I pull a 21 Ft travel trailer. Red River is an awesome place to kick back, watch the boys play around the playground, walk the town, let my wife do some shopping, whatever, because we guys always go fishing in different places like their city pond, and Fawn Lakes. It is not far to walk to fish or do something in town. Only 30 miles from Red River to Eagle Nest Lake to watch the fireworks. The parade is always good. Lots of candies & goodies. They have a few different activities for the kids to participate in. See you in Hill, Vinny

The Martinez MEN!!!!!

NR Tags… ALL about the Money

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:30:41 +0000

Wow…

This is interesting… I pulled this from NMWF… GOOD STUFF GUYS… Keep the pressure on..

Listen to what McClintic says about the money issue..

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Click here to listen to the seven-minute exchange between Silver City hunter Larry McDaniel and Commission Chairman Jim McClintic (also on the recording are Commissioner Tom Arvas and Assistant Director Pat Block.) Click here to read the transcript.

Please note that McDaniel is correct. Department figures show that E-PLUS landowners received more than 40 percent of the elk allocation each of the last three years. For the 2009-10 license year, the department gave E-PLUS landowners 18,846 authorizations (45.8 percent) while putting 22,294 licenses (54.2 percent) in the Big Game Draw.

Also for clarification, Chairman McClintic says 150,000 people applied for 47,000 licenses. There were 150,000 applications: Several hunters apply for multiple species, resulting in multiple applications per applicant. The number of applicants is close to 91,000.

Chairman McClintic also tells McDaniel that Montana has “137 times more antelope” than New Mexico. It isn’t clear where that information is from, but it does not appear to be correct. The NM Department of Game and Fish web site does not have information about New Mexico’s antelope population. But Montana, according to recent antelope population data on the Montana web site, has about 216,000 animals. If that’s 137 times more than New Mexico, New Mexico would have fewer than 1,600 antelope. Currently NMDGF offers some 6,000 antelope hunting licenses a year.

Left-over Tags!!!!

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:51:23 +0000

Hmmm.. There are some cool tags left.. Burro Mountains and Elk in 13 and 15…

Sweet…

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JULY 15, 2010:

YOUTH ELK, LEFTOVER DEER, JAVELINA LICENSES GO ON SALE IN AUGUST
OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE PROGRAM ACCEPTING GRANT PROPOSALS
COMMENTS SOUGHT ON STATE ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES LIST

YOUTH ELK, LEFTOVER DEER, JAVELINA LICENSES GO ON SALE IN AUGUST

SANTA FE — Youth and adult hunters who missed a shot at a big-game hunting license during this year’s annual drawing will have another chance this August when the Department of Game and Fish puts more than 5,000 deer, elk and javelina licenses up for sale on the agency Web site.

The online sales will be first-come, first-served and will be conducted in two parts on different days. The first sale will be Aug. 4 for elk licenses reserved only for youths younger than age 18. The second sale will be Aug. 11 for deer and javelina hunts available to youth and adults. Both sales will begin at 10 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time.

Here are some details about the sales:

Youth Encouragement Hunts

On sale: 10 a.m. Aug. 4 at www.wildlife.state.nm.us.
Licenses available: Approximately 1,900 elk licenses, including about 1,700 for any legal sporting arm and 200 for muzzleloaders. All of the muzzleloader hunts are for elk of either sex. All but 100 of the any legal sporting arm hunts are for cow elk. A complete list of available hunts, including dates and unit numbers, will be announced soon on the Department Web site.
Eligibility: Only hunters younger than 18 who were unsuccessful in the regular drawing and whose applications were not rejected for reasons such as lack of funds, incorrect forms or failure to file a harvest report are eligible to purchase a youth encouragement license. Youth also must have successfully completed an approved hunter safety course before purchasing a license.

Available hunts

Any legal sporting arm:

Unit 5B, Nov. 26-30, 20 antlerless licenses.
Unit 6A, Nov. 26-30, 50 antlerless licenses.
Unit 6A, Dec. 26-30, 50 antlerless licenses.
Unit 6C, Nov. 26-30, 50 antlerless licenses.
Unit 6C, Dec. 26-30, 50 antlerless licenses.
Unit 10, Nov. 26-30, 35 antlerless licenses.
Unit 13, Nov. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 13, Dec. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 15, Nov. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 15, Dec. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 16-A, Nov. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 16-A, Dec. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 16-C, Nov. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 16-C, Dec. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 16-D, Nov. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 16-D, Dec. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 16-E, Nov. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 16-E, Dec. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 17, Nov. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 17, Dec. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 34, Dec. 26-30, 80 antlerless licenses.
Unit 36, Nov. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 36, Dec. 26-30, 60 antlerless licenses.
Unit 49, Nov. 26-30, 50 either-sex licenses.
Unit 50, Dec. 26-30, 80 antlerless licenses.
Unit 51, Nov. 26-30, 90 antlerless licenses.
Unit 51, Dec. 26-30, 90 antlerless licenses.
Unit 52, Nov. 26-30, 50 antlerless licenses.
Unit 53, Nov. 26-30, 40 either-sex licenses.
Unit 53, Dec. 26-30, 100 either-sex licenses.

Muzzleloader and bow:

Unit 9, Nov. 26-30, 150 either-sex licenses.
Unit 9, Dec. 26-30, 50 either-sex licenses.

Leftover deer, javelina licenses

On sale: 10 a.m. Aug. 11 at www.wildlife.state.nm.us.
Licenses available: Approximately 430 javelina licenses and 2,760 deer licenses. Available deer licenses include about 259 hunts for any legal weapon, 1,668 archery hunts and 838 muzzleloader hunts. A complete list of available hunts, including dates and unit numbers, will be announced soon on the Department Web site.
Eligibility: Residents and nonresidents of any age who meet youth hunter safety requirements and filed a mandatory harvest report if they held a deer or elk license for the 2009-2010 seasons.

Deer licenses available

Youth-only, any legal sporting arm:

Unit 30, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 61 licenses.
Unit 30, Nov. 13-17, 179 licenses.
Unit 58, Dec. 4-8, 3 licenses.
Unit 59, Nov. 25-28, 1 license.
Unit 59, Dec. 4-8, 15 licenses.

Archery only:

Unit 13, Sept. 1-24, 70 licenses.
Unit 13, Jan. 1-15, 65 licenses.
Unit 15, Jan. 1-15, 46 licenses.
Unit 16, Jan 1-15, 74 licenses.
Unit 17, Sept. 1-24, 64 licenses.
Unit 18, Sept. 1-24, 37 licenses.
Unit 18, Jan. 1-15, 9 licenses.
Unit 20, Sept. 1-24, 25 licenses.
Unit 21, Sept. 1-24, 128 licenses.
Unit 22, Sept. 1-24, 15 licenses.
Unit 23, except Burro Mountains, mule deer, Sept. 1-24, 65 licenses.
Unit 23, except Burro Mountains, white-tailed deer, Sept. 1-24, 72 licenses.
Unit 23, except Burro Mountains, white-tailed deer, Jan. 1-15, 15 licenses.
Unit 24, white-tailed deer, Sept. 1-24, 48 licenses.
Unit 24, white-tailed deer, Jan. 1-15, 21 licenses.
Unit 25, Sept. 1-24, 47 licenses.
Unit 25, Jan 1-15, 20 licenses.
Unit 26, except Big Hatchets, Sept. 1-24, 24 licenses.
Unit 26, except Big Hatchets, Jan. 1-15, 13 licenses.
Unit 27, white-tailed deer, Jan. 1-15, 3 licenses.
Unit 29, Sept. 1-22 and Jan. 1-15, 93 licenses.
Unit 32, Sept. 1-22 and Jan. 1-15, 18 licenses.
Unit 39, Sept. 1-22 and Jan. 1-15, 12 licenses.
Unit 40, Sept. 1-22 and Jan. 1-15, 38 licenses.
Unit 47, Sept. 1-22, 8 licenses.
Unit 48, Sept. 1-22, 5 licenses.
Unit 50, Sept. 1-22, 1 license.
Unit 56, Sept. 1-22, 5 licenses.
Unit 58, Sept. 1-22, 13 licenses.
Unit 59, Sept. 1-22, 10 licenses.

Muzzleloader and archery:

Unit 13, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 131 licenses.
Unit 15, Sept. 25-Oct. 3, 51 licenses.
Unit 18, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 31 licenses.
Unit 20, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 64 licenses.
Unit 21, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 288 licenses.
Unit 22, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 50 licenses.
Unit 23, except Burro Mountains, mule deer, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 204 licenses.
Unit 23, except Burro Mountains, white-tailed deer, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 38 licenses.
Unit 23, Burro Mountains, white-tailed deer, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 2 licenses.
Unit 24, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, mule deer, 103 licenses.
Unit 24, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, white-tailed deer, 42 licenses.
Unit 25, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 43 licenses.
Unit 26, except Big Hatchets, Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 59 licenses.
Unit 30, Oct. 23-27, restricted muzzleloader, 200 licenses.
Unit 33, Oct. 23-27, restricted muzzleloader, 4 licenses.
Unit 37, Oct. 23-27, restricted muzzleloader, 24 licenses.
Unit 40, Oct. 23-27, 15 licenses.

Javelina licenses available

Any legal sporting arm:

Statewide, except Units 19 and 23-27, Jan. 16-March 31, 141 licenses.

Archery:

Units 19 and 23-27, Jan. 16-31, 52 licenses.
Statewide, except Units 19 and 23-27, Jan. 1-15, 241 licenses.

Hunters are strongly advised to obtain or review an online customer account, including a Customer Identification Number, user name and password before the sales begin. Popular hunts sell out minutes, sometimes seconds after the sales begin.

For more information and updates about the leftover license and Youth Encouragement license sales, please check the Department Web site, www.wildlife.state.nm.us.

Game and Fish Meeting in Silver… Grrrr!!!

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:23:23 +0000

I pulled this from the Silver City News…. It looks like the Commision is starting to feel the heat..

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State Game Commission approves new rules

Sun News Report

Posted: 07/15/2010 10:30:16 PM MDT

SILVER CITY – Meeting for nearly nine hours last Thursday in Silver City, the State Game Commission approved new rules for elk and several other big game species, extended the popular Habitat Stamp program and voiced support for a plan to simplify hunting, fishing and trapping licenses and stamps.

Also, youth and adult hunters who missed a shot at a big-game hunting license during this year’s annual drawing will have another chance this August when the Department of Game and Fish puts more than 5,000 deer, elk and javelina licenses up for sale on the agency Web site.

Some sportsmen in Silver City may have shied away from speaking at the meeting after watching members of the commission challenge the testimony of hunters who came to the microphone.

Larry McDaniel, a Silver City veterinarian, went to the podium thinking he had three minutes to talk. Instead, his testimony was interrupted several times by Chairman Jim McClintic, his facts were disputed and his ideas were contested.

McDaniel started off his testimony in jest, saying he hadn’t drawn an elk tag in several years and that he thought his chances might improve if he moved to El Paso, Texas, and applied as a non-resident. He encouraged the commission to bring New Mexico more in line with other western states, citing our liberal nonresident quota (22 percent) as a major concern.

“But the big kahuna is the over 40 percent (of elk tags) that go to private landowners,” McDaniel said.

McClintic interrupted, saying, “That’s not an accurate number, sir.”

NMDGF Assistant Director Pat Block said 40 percent was a little high.

“I believe that’s a little bit on the high side,” Block told the commission. “When you look at the licenses (that are sold through E-PLUS), it’s about a third; when you look at the total number authorized, it does get closer to that 40 but it’s probably on the high side. Over the last 10 years, it’s never hit 40 percent, with either measure.”

The New Mexico Wildlife Federation said department figures show that E-PLUS landowners have received more than 40 percent of the licenses each of the last three years – licenses that the landowner can transfer or resell. For the 2009-10 license year, the department gave E-PLUS landowners 18,846 authorizations (45.8 percent) while putting 22,294 licenses (54.2 percent) in the Big Game Draw.

Of the 18,846 authorizations given to E-PLUS landowners, only 10,974 were used, which left 7,872 licenses unsold. That translates to lost revenue for the Department of Game and Fish and lost opportunity for New Mexico resident hunters.

After McDaniel’s testimony, which resulted in a heated argument with McClintic, McDaniel told the NMWF that he was surprised by the treatment he received and that he called Gov. Bill Richardson’s Office of Boards and Commissions to lodge a complaint against McClintic.

“I felt like I was treated rudely,” McDaniel said. “I was interrupted repeatedly. I thought it was bizarre. I was expecting them to take what I said into consideration and say, ‘OK, we’ve heard you and we’ll consider your comments.’ I was just surprised by the whole thing.”

The Commission approved several broad changes for big game rules, including extending legal hunting hours to 30 minutes after sunset, and allowing crossbows in hunts open to all other weapon types. The NMWF also commended the department for actively seeking sportsmen’s comments on the proposals and providing a 60-day comment period. The Habitat Stamp program was extended for another 10 years, and a proposal was brought forth to allow a simpler license and stamp system.

In reference to the online sales of deer, elk and javelina licenses, they will be on a first-come, first-served basis, and will be conducted in two parts on different days. The first sale will be Aug. 4 for elk licenses reserved only for youths younger than age 18. The second sale will be Aug. 11 for deer and javelina hunts available to youth and adults. Both sales will begin at 10 a.m.