January 2025 Re-cap

The NM State Game Commission hosted their first meeting of 2025 on Friday Jan. 10th in Santa Fe. The agenda was mostly routine except for one REALLY BIG change regarding pronghorn in the northeast. If you read nothing else, please read the update on landowner pronghorn hunts in GMUs 41, 47, 56, 57, 58, & 59, written in bold under “Pronghorn License Changes”.
 
AQUATIC SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVATION NEED (SGCN) INITIATIVES
Fisheries chief Kirk Patten provided the Commission with an update regarding the Department’s conservation work for aquatic species of greatest conservation need. The Dept., in conjunction with other federal, state, tribal, and non-governmental partners, have worked continuously over several decades through longstanding initiatives, to benefit Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout, Rio Grande Chub, Rio Grande Sucker, and Pecos Pupfish. Pecos Pupfish (a species that were proposed endangered 25 years ago) were successfully downlisted to threatened in 2024. Chief Patten happily reported that through the successful conservation efforts of NMDGF, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that an ESA designation for Rio Grande Chub and Rio Grande Sucker fish (separate species) is not warranted at this time. The USFWS additionally determined that an ESA designation on Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout is also not warranted. This is due to the overwhelming success of Dept. conservation efforts which have resulted in a 16% expansion of Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout populations statewide over the past 20 years.
 
MIGRATORY GAME BIRD RULE
As is done every year during the first Commission Meeting, the Dept. initiated opening the Migratory Game Bird Rule. This is an annual rule which is amended each year in conjunction with the USFWS recommendations for the pacific and central flyways. Hunting season dates will be adjusted according to the federal framework, which will be released in the coming months. One big change that is anticipated for all flyways but especially for NM is an adjustment to the pintail bag limit, which will allow for more consistent management with less anticipated swings in future bag limits. In collaboration with the USWFS framework, the pintail bag limit will be increased to 3 (from 1). Sandhill crane populations continue to increase in NM. NMDGF will get allocation numbers from the USFWS in mid-April and determine changes in sandhill crane license allocations. This agenda item was for discussion purposes only. The Migratory Bird rule is now open and will soon be available for public comment. The Dept. will be hosting several public meetings across the state in the coming months.
 
HABITAT STAMP PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Dept. provided an update on the Habitat Stamp Program including a summary of the program’s accomplishments since it was reauthorized by the Commission in 2021. The Habitat Stamp Program began in 1986 and was intended to initiate habitat projects across NM on federal lands. The program is authorized under the Sikes Act. Anyone who hunts or fishes on federal land in NM must purchase a $10 habitat stamp. The revenue collected through the program is then used to conserve those habitats. The program is entirely funded by hunters and anglers.
 
The program is guided by a Commission appointed Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC). The annual budget of the program is between $1.5 and $2 million. Projects are brought to the CAC (by commissioners and the general public) and the CAC ranks those projects once a year to determine which projects will receive funding priority. Because the program is substantially funded by anglers, at least 50% of the funds must be applied to fishing projects. The Dept. has 4 years to spend the money allocated to any one project. Since 2021, the Dept. has completed 41 habitat projects including 52 miles of fence removal, 62 acres of stream and lake rehabilitation, and over 10,000 acres of habitat have been restored.
 
PRONGHORN LICENSE CHANGES
NMCOG has heard from many concerned outfitters regarding the pronghorn antelope population in northeast NM over the past few years, and with more frequency recently. The good news is that the NMDGF is finally taking our concerns seriously. The Dept. has made some major changes to the number of antelope licenses that will be issued in 2025 in Game Management Units 41, 42, 47, 56, 57, 58, & 59. These changes have already been made and are printed in the 2025 NMDGF Rules and Regulations booklet which was published on the Dept. website last week. The reason that these changes were made without public comment or Game Commission input is that by law the Director has the ability to reduce licenses by 20% if the species is, for any reason, experiencing a rapid decline in population. The Dept. has determined that the situation in the northeast is dire enough to warrant this immediate 20% reduction in hunting licenses.  
 
Wildlife Chief Stewart Liley provided a presentation to the Commission regarding the status of the northeast pronghorn antelope population. Recent ariel surveys indicate that both density and group size continue to decrease. According to Chief Liley, fawn mortality is likely the reason for the loss of the herd in NE. Department data shows that there has not been a substantial decline in buck to doe ratios and it is rather the fawn to doe ratio that is the concern. Fawn to doe ratios have been very low since 2020 with an estimated just 12% of the fawn crop surviving to adulthood. The cause of this mortality is likely due to drought. The northeast has experienced several years of very severe drought which correlates with the Dept.’s data showing a high level of fawn mortality due to abandonment and of “unknown” causes. While the NMDGF believes that hunter harvest has had a minimal impact on the decline, since NM is heavy on buck harvest (we harvest very few female antelope), buck numbers are really the only aspects where the Dept. can even try to help reverse the decline. And therefore, buck licenses are being reduced by 20% for both draw and private land hunts in 2025 (female harvest is also being eliminated). The hope is that this change will help maintain buck to doe ratios and promote maximum breed back and fawn recruitment. But really, only well-timed rain will be the herds savior!
 
While these changes will come as music to the ears of many folks who have been worried about the northeast pronghorn herd for years, the changes won’t come without business model adjustments for outfitters. As part of the 20% reduction in tags, the antelope licenses issued on private land (previously unlimited, over the counter) are now capped. That means that when private land antelope licenses go on sale July 1st there will be an inevitable mad dash by all outfitters (who hunt antelope in the northeast region) to buy every private land license they need for 2025. Once the cap is met, there will be no more private land antelope licenses sold for the northeast hunts (this will additionally eliminate an outfitters ability to sell 2025 antelope hunts after July 1st).  Caps are determined on a GMU basis and are listed below. It is extremely important that outfitters (and their hunter clientele) understand that for the 2025 season when you buy a private land antelope permit in the following GMU’s they are licenses. Meaning, just like draw licenses, these license sales are final! If an outfitter has an antelope client that cancels last minute, their private land antelope license cannot be refunded or exchanged (except for death or hospitalization). I repeat; all private land outfitters in the following GMUs will need to notify their 2025 antelope clientele that once the license is purchased, they are locked in and cancelling their trip after July 1st will be very difficult. This is the first time that the NMDGF has put a cap on license sales over a large geographic region. If you have questions or would like further information, please contact NMCOG at 505-440-5258.
 
GMU 41 – 190 total private land licenses available
GMU 42 – 54 total private land licenses available
GMU 47 - 71 total private land licenses available
GMU 56 - 383 total private land licenses available
GMU 57 – 36 total private land licenses available
GMU 58 – 185 total private land licenses available
GMU 59 – 246 total private land licenses available
 
ODDS, ENDS, & PUBLIC COMMENT
In Executive Session the Commission voted to approve their hunting easement with the NM State Land Office. The agreement remains unchanged as it relates to hunter access to state trust lands. The Commission also heard a lengthy update on the status of wildlife corridors in NM. As directed by statute the NMDGF and NMDOT have collaborated to draft a well thought out plan regarding why and where best for NM to build wildlife corridors. Next step is finding the money to set the plan into motion. Public comment consisted mostly of support for wildlife corridors as well as support for the habitat stamp program.