August 2025

​Game Commission Recap
8/15/2025

The NM State Game Commission hosted a meeting in the far west rural community of Reserve, NM on August 15th in the Reserve High School Gymnasium. The meeting was packed with over 300 community members, advocates, lobbyists, reporters, NM County Commissioners from multiple counties, and several NM Legislators. The meeting was over 10 hours long. However, although there were numerous important topics on the agenda, there was a mass exodus of people after the wolf hearing. Leaving just the same ole, small handful of die-hards in the giant empty venue. It was a glaring reminder that antlers, fish, and small game simply don’t instill nearly the level of passion that predators do.
 
DEPT. OF GAME AND FISH RULE CREATION REVIEW
The Commission heard several “subsequent” updates on open Rules during this meeting. Quick reminder on the process of rule creation: when the Commission opens a rule it is called the “initial discussion”. Between the initial and subsequent discussions, the NMDGF hosts public meetings and formalizes their recommendations to the Commission. The Dept. presents their final recommendations to the Commission at the “subsequent discussion”. The Dept will then post their final recommendations to the Sunshine Portal (the official state register) where it must remain unchanged for 30 days prior to final approval. At the next meeting after the “subsequent discussion” the Commission will hold a “hearing” to approve the Rule. The hearing is just a formality in the process. No changes can be made to the Rule during the hearing (otherwise by law the Rule must go back to the register for an additional 30 days). As a member of the public, your time to make your voice heard is between the initial and subsequent discussions. If your changes have not been incorporated into the Dept’s proposal by the subsequent meeting, they will not be included in the final rule hearing.
 
CATRON COUNTY MEXICAN WOLF UPDATE
The Catron County Commission provided the Game Commission with an update (to the presentation they gave to the Commission in April) related to continued community problems with the Mexican Wolf reintroduction. The County Commissioners gave detailed statements regarding their personal interactions with the wolf. The meeting was extremely well attended. Attendees consisted of roughly equal numbers of ranchers and wolf advocates.
 
Livestock owners voiced concerns that they continue to lose livestock, including horses, to wolf kills every year and they are not being compensated adequately for their losses. Wolf advocates commented on their love for the wolves and made statements about wolves having the right to be on the landscape. The County Commission described various requests they’ve made to the US Fish and Wildlife Service as well as the NM Dept. of Game and Fish in an effort to alleviate wolf pressure. The Game Commission applauded the presentation as well as the public attendance but gave minimal response as it relates to any potential action items. The USFWS attended the meeting but gave just a very broad overview of the program and provided no response to public comment.
 
NMCOG voiced industry concerns that outfitters in the Gila continue to witness decreasing numbers of elk. We expressed concern that the Gila (which used to be the number 1 elk hunting destination in the world) is today struggling to remain in the top 10. Outfitters feel a reduction in the number of trophy quality bulls is to blame and that wolves are likely more than partially responsible, especially on public land and in the wilderness. NMCOG also understands that the Mexican Wolf program is a federal program and that the Game Commission has limited ability to make any changes to the program. However, we requested that the NMDGF do a more thorough job monitoring the elk herds in the Gila so that as wolf numbers continue to increase, we won't be caught off guard by rapid loss in the elk population. Elk herds in NM simply cannot sustain uncontrolled numbers of wolves the way that elk in Montana and Wyoming have.
 
SUBSEQUENT DISCUSSION OF A PROPOSED SHED HUNTING RULE
The Dept. provided their second presentation on the recommendations to establish a Rule regarding Shed Hunting. As part of Senate Bill 5 (which was passed by the NM Legislature in January) the Dept. is obligated (starting in 2026) to charge a non-resident license fee of $200 for “shed hunting”. The legislation also specified that “a shed hunter license shall not be required for shed hunting by a NM resident.” These two additions to the Game and Fish statute require that the Game Commission promulgate a Rule to define “shed hunting.”
 
The Dept. is proposing that Shed Hunting be defined as the “possession of more than 2 obviously shed antlers found in the field”. To clarify, beginning in 2026, any non-resident who comes to New Mexico and collects more than 2 shed antlers would be required to purchase a non-resident shed hunting license or face disciplinary action. The Dept. is proposing that a violation of this Rule would be a penalty assessment which would result in a fee.
 
The NMCOG Board of Directors voted (at our July Annual Meeting) to recommend that the NMDGF also institute a shed hunting season. After hearing from many outfitters in the Gila and in the northwest that commercial shed hunters are having a negative ecological impact (from destruction of habitat and wildlife harassment; shed hunters chasing down deer to make them drop their antlers) it was decided that NMCOG would propose a shed hunting season. We recommended to the Commission that the season begin May 1st and run through December 31st. The NMDGF and the Commission DECLINED our request. The Dept. is not proposing to institute a shed season. The above sentence in bold is what the Commission will be voting to implement at their November meeting.
 
SUBSEQUENT DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE FISHERIES RULE
The Dept. provided their subsequent presentation regarding possible changes to the next 4-year cycle of the Fisheries Rule. In recent behind closed door discussions with NMCOG the Dept. had expressed a willingness to extend quality water status to the parts of the San Juan River that flow through private land (from Rainbow Lodge down to the boat ramp at Hammond). The Dept. had seemed open to changing the status on that section of river from "regular" to Christmas waters (which is a special trout water designation). However, at their presentation to the Commission this past Friday the Department failed to mention our discussions and the Commission proceeded with "no changes". We also requested the quality water status to extend below the boat ramp at Crusher Hole to help combat the issue of unfortunate interactions between bait fisherman fishing from the boat ramp (which is already illegal) and guides in the process of removing boats from the water. The Dept. also denied our request for this change despite the industry asking politely for solutions to this issue for many years.
 
The Commission needs to hear from the industry so that they understand how important these issues are to the San Juan Fishing community! If the NMDGF is unwilling to work with NMCOG as a representative for the fishing industry, we will force them to listen to each individual voice on the river. The Fisheries Rule will be approved at the November Commission meeting. This is our last Hail Mary attempt to get the Commission and the Dept. to listen to the concerns of the guided fishing industry.
 
Please take 10 minutes to voice your concerns and opinions to the Commission. Draft your own personal email outlining your feelings on these issues. Send your email to the addresses at the bottom of this email.
 
SUBSEQUENT DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL CHANGES TO THE UPLAND GAME RULE
The Dept. provided their subsequent presentation regarding possible changes to the next 4-year cycle of the Upland Game Rule. The following proposal will be sent to the Sunshine Portal and will be approved by the Commission at their November meeting.

• Adjust hunt dates according to calendar shift
• No changes to bag limits for Quail
• Changes to the Bernardo Youth Pheasant Hunt. See below.
• Add additional special youth pheasant hunt on Jackson Lake WMA
• Open Bluebird and Pine River WMAs for upland hunting during squirrel/grouse season
• Open Double E, L Bar, Navajo, and River Ranch WMAs for upland hunting during Quail season
• Divide Dusky Grouse into North and South zone and set possession limits. North/South divided by Interstate-40
  • North - 3 birds/day, 6 in possession
  • South - 1 bird/day, 2 in possession
• Pheasant dates as follows:  

Future Commission meetings
November 7, 2025 (Friday) – Los Alamos
January 9, 2026 (Friday) – Santa Fe

COMMISSIONER CONTACT INFORMATION
(You're encouraged to contact the Commissioners any time to voice your opinion)
Richard Stump - Chairman
Appointed at-large 
[email protected]

Sharon Salazar Hickey - Vice Chair
District 4: Santa Fe, Taos, Colfax, Union, Mora, Harding, Quay, San Miguel, Guadalupe and Torrance counties
[email protected]

Tirzio Lopez
District 3: San Juan, McKinley, Cibola, Valencia, Sandoval, Los Alamos & Rio Arriba counties
[email protected]

Gregg Fulfer
District 1: Curry, De Baca, Roosevelt, Chaves, Lincoln, Otero, Eddy and Lea counties
[email protected]
​
OPEN
District 2: Catron, Socorro, Grant, Hidalgo, Luna, Sierra and Dona Ana counties

Fernando Clemente Jr.
Appointed at-large 
[email protected]

Dr. Christopher Witt
District 5: Bernalillo County
[email protected]