Share with Wildlife | BISON-M

A New Cooter Location

The Black River. (Ginny Seamster)

The Western River Cooter is species of turtle that is of particular interest to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Very little is known about where it is found, what kind of habitat it needs at different life stages, and how it is doing in New Mexico. It is currently undergoing review by US Fish and Wildlife Service to determine whether it should be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Thus, time is of the essence in terms of answering some fundamental questions about this species and its status.

Western River Cooter hatchling. (Ginny Seamster)

Turtle x-ray. (Ginny Seamster)

Dr. Ivana Mali and students at Eastern New Mexico University are using funds from the Share with Wildlife program, and other sources, to help fill some of the information gaps about the cooter. In 2018, Dr. Mali conducted surveys at two sites on the Black River in southeastern New Mexico that she and her team surveyed in previous years.

Based on Dr. Mali’s data from the past two years, this turtle is relatively abundant at both the survey areas and there are many hatchlings, which is potentially good news in terms of the sustainability of the population on the Black River. However, multiple years of data are needed to know how well the population is really doing and how many of these hatchlings, and older turtles, survive one or more years.

Measuring adult turtle. (Ginny Seamster)

Very exciting news from the 2018 turtle survey season is that Dr. Mali was able to confirm a sighting of cooters in Chaves County. The fact that more than one live cooter was observed this year in Chaves County, relatively far north of Brantley Dam, its previously identified northernmost extent, is good news for this species. Also new this year, Dr. Mali and her team collaborated with the Desert Willow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Carlsbad, New Mexico to x-ray larger turtles to assess reproductive condition of females and determine whether individuals of either gender have ingested fish hooks.

The Share with Wildlife projects for 2019 have been selected (see list below). The Call for Project Information for Share with Wildlife projects for 2020 will be released in spring, 2019.

These forms are provided for informational purposes to individuals and organizations submitting a proposal to the Share with Wildlife program in response to an active Call For Project Information. These forms should not be submitted to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish unless an employee of the Department directly contacts you and requests that you fill them out as part of the process of implementing a professional services contract for a new Share with Wildlife project.

Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form

Compliance with Government Conduct Act

DFA Agency Certification Form

Substitute Form W-9

Applicants for a Share with Wildlife project who intend to capture and handle animals or use live animals and/or animal parts for educational purposes for their project may need to obtain a scientific collection permit or educational program permit from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Please see the Special Use Permits page for more information and contact dgf.permits@state.nm.us with questions.

Rio Costilla pre-treatment

Rio Costilla post-treatment

New Mexico wildlife needs your help! Share with Wildlife funds numerous projects related to wildlife habitat enhancement, wildlife-related education, wildlife rehabilitation, and research on wildlife biology and ecology every year. All projects are made possible through donations made by members of the public. 

To make a donation, you may donate part of the refund on your state tax return; purchase a Share with Wildlife license plate or make any dollar amount donation online (minimum $2; see more information below); or mail in a check using this donation form. All donated funds go to supporting wildlife; none are used for administrative costs.

If you want your dollars to go even further in supporting non-game wildlife, consider donating to Share with Wildlife and purchasing a Habitat Management Access Validation simultaneously. Click here for more information about donating and here for information on our State Game Commission Lands

Thank you for your support of New Mexico’s wildlife!

Download the PDF to support wildlife by ordering the Share with Wildlife license plate. PDF made available from MVD New Mexico. The Rio Grande cutthroat trout plate is only available through the mail starting October 23rd, 2017. It may take 6-10 weeks to receive your trout plate from MVD.

On the Online Licensing System website (shown below) please enter your Username (or Customer ID or Email) and Password, and then click the Login button:

Once you are logged in, if you only wish to donate to Share with Wildlife, click on the Share with Wildlife button on the home page:

Type any dollar amount (minimum $2.00) you wish to donate in the Enter Donation Amount box (shown below) and click Review Order:

Dismiss any pop-up windows (shown below) regarding purchasing other items by clicking the OK button:

Click the Add to Cart button (shown below) at the top of the Review Order page:

On the next screen, click Checkout and continue on to complete your purchase.

OR

Once you are logged in, if you are purchasing other items through the Online Licensing System, go to License Sales | General License Sales from the Main Menu (shown below):

After you read the Terms of Agreement on the next page and click the Continue button, you will see a list of Available Products. Locate the Share with Wildlife Donation product ($10 donation only) OR the Share with Wildlife Extra Donation product ($2.00 minimum donation; type dollar amount in Enter Donation Amount box) and click the check box next to (add to order). Click the Review Order button:

Dismiss any pop-up windows (shown above) regarding purchasing other items by clicking the OK button. Click the Add to Cart button (shown above) at the top of the Review Order page. On the next screen, click Checkout and continue on to complete your purchase.