New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Media contact: Dan Williams, (505) 476-8004
Public contact: (505) 476-8000
dan.williams@state.nm.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPT. 29, 2008:

BIG-GAME HUNTING RULES ON GAME COMMISSION AGENDA

ALAMOGORDO -- The State Game Commission will set big-game hunting rules for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons at its meeting Thursday, Oct. 2, in Alamogordo.

Several big-game hunting rule changes are being recommended for nearly every species of big game, such as deer, elk, bear and cougar. Some of the changes include adding more youth hunts for various species, adding a separate archery hunt for javelina, and minor boundary adjustments to some hunting units to help streamline the current system. The Commission also will consider a proposal to revise the Antelope Private Land Use System (A-PLUS) to establish procedures by which pronghorn antelope harvest is determined and how hunting opportunities are allocated to private-land and public hunters.

The meeting will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Sgt. William Estrada Memorial Civic Center, 800 E. First St., in Alamogordo. The full agenda, detailed agenda-item briefings and other information are available on the Department of Game and Fish Web site, www.wildlife.state.nm.us or by calling (505) 476-8008.

Other agenda items include:

• The Commission will consider a list of individuals presented for hunting and fishing license revocation, based on established revocation criteria.

• Proposed adoption of the 2008 Biennial Review of the status of species listed as threatened, endangered or restricted under New Mexico's Wildlife Conservation Act. The review includes recommendations to downlist desert bighorn sheep from endangered to threatened, and to uplist the gray redhorse sucker from threatened to endangered.

• Proposals from Mexico and Acoma Pueblo to receive pronghorn antelope that would be captured and translocated from New Mexico. 

• A proposal to revise rules to make the Department more effective and efficient at mitigating or resolving wildlife depredation complaints.

• Proposed amendments to hunting and fishing manner-and-method rules include changes to the two-track road definition and defining landowner permission to hunt or fish.

The State Game Commission is composed of seven members who represent the state’s diverse interests in wildlife-associated recreation and conservation. Members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. Current members are Chairman Tom Arvas, Albuquerque; Vice-chairman M.H. “Dutch” Salmon, Silver City; Alfredo Montoya, Alcalde; Leo Sims, Hobbs; Sandy Buffett, Santa Fe; Jim McClintic, Albuquerque; and Oscar Simpson, Albuquerque.
If you are an individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the meeting, please contact Shirley Baker, (505) 476-8030. Public documents, including the agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible forms.

###