
This meeting was called to order at 9 a.m. in Santa Fe, New Mexico, by Chair Richard Stump. Director Michael Sloane delivered the Commission roll call; six members were present (one position has still not been filled). Commissioners attending onsite were Chair Richard Stump, Vice-chair Sharon Salizar-Hickey, Tirzio Lopez, Fernando Clemente, and Sabrina Pack; Commissioner Greg Fulfer attended virtually. Self-introductions of others present onsite and those attending virtually were given, including approximately 20 staff members of NMDGF two members of the public present in the room, and about 5 identifying themselves online. (This is a considerably larger number of department staff than usual, probably because most are assigned to positions in or near Santa Fe; fewer members of the public were present than usual).
Unlike most Game Commission meetings, no member of the Attorney General’s office was present in person or online. Two members of the Citizen Advisory Committee for the Habitat Stamp program identified themselves online. The Commission then elected the chair and vice-chair for the new year; Richard Strump was reelected as chair, and commissioner Sharon Salizar-Hickey was reelected as vice-chair. Passage of the usual consent agenda (approving minutes of the previous meeting, license revocations, and a standard Open Meeting Act Resolution) completed the.
The scheduled Annual Financial Audit (scheduled as the first presentation) was not ready and was passed over for a later meeting. A presentation on several Aquatic Species of Greatest Conservation Need in was then offered in some depth by Chief Kirk Patten. The species focused were the Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout, the Rio Grande Chub, the Rio Grande Sucker, and the Pecos Pupfish. The Department in previous years had evaluated these as species as at-risk. The current report indicated that the state of each of these species has been stabilized or improved as a result of conservation efforts by the department and Conservation Team signatories. Chief Liley then presented current information on the Migratory Bird Rule (19.31.6 NMAC) related to changes bases on public comment, recent survey information, management goals, and current information from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. They are currently analyzing data and reaching out to migratory bird hunters to evaluation alternatives and inform the rule development process. The Department is currently beginning a fresh public involvement process related to this rule, including current proposed changes, and gathering input from mail, email, and public meetings to reach out to the interested public. Discussion was encouraged. Both the aquatic species and the migratory bird materials were clearly presented and elicited limited further discussion.
The next item on the agenda was discussion of the Habitat Stamp Program. As presented by Chief Liley, “Funding for this program is used to improve and restore fish and wildlife habitat on US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands with an emphasis on improving sportsmen and sportswomen opportunities for hunting and fishing,” (noting that many New Mexicans hunt and fish on federal lands). In 2021, the Game Commission reauthorized the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC), which is associated with program for the next 10 years. The CAC is constituted by nine independent public members selected based on knowledge and experience consistent with the intent of the program. In this process, project outlines and details from the Forest Service and BLM in partnership with NMDGF staff are presented in detail to the CAC, which studies, refines, and evaluates each in detail. members are appointed for 5-year terms, which allows them to follow the progress of the projects funded. Since 2021 when the program was reworked, 42 improvement projects with expenditures of $5.88M have been successfully completed, in close collaboration with the Forest Service and BLM. For the current year, the Habitat Stamp program has allocated up to $3,000,000 from program funds. Among Game Commission members some interest in learning more about the program was demonstrated, expressing encouragement. Two members of the CAC attending virtually provided further information to the commission.
Chief Liley then presented information and data on a decrease in pronghorn licenses in some GMUs in the northeastern region of the state. While populations of adults and fawns have been robust for some time, aerial surveys over the last 4 years suggest decreased fawn and adult female survival. Those metrics, which drive population, have raised concerns, including among some members of the public, including land owners. Therefore the department has decided that in the coming 2025-26 year, all female and immature male tags in GMUs 41, 47, 56, 57, 58, and 59 will be eliminated, and numbers of licenses in GMUs 41,42,47, 56, 57, and 59 will be reduced by 20%. This will include reductions in over-the counter private land licenses. (These adjustment are allowed under 19.31.15.8.) The New Mexico Chapter of BHA had supported the NMDGF in 2018 when it proposed a shift away from the A-Plus system to hopefully create more pronghorn hunting opportunities for public land hunters, while opposing unlimited OTC tags for private landowners. Since that time we have closely tracked on the ground reports and pronghorn survey data for trends that would inform how pronghorn management might be improved from a public land hunter's perspective. We are pleased to see NMDGF making needed changes to license allocations in response to declining fawn and adult female survival, but strongly encourage NMDGF to do a deep dive into the allocation of public vs. private hunting opportunities. Unfortunately, it remains incredibly difficult for the average New Mexican hunter to draw a pronghorn tag.
A final presentation was offered by Chief Lyle and Trent Botkin, a program coordinator for the Department of Transportation, related to efforts to expand and improve wildlife corridors. Their very detailed and impressive presentation included issues and developments related to fences and wildlife crossings on major highways including US 550, i25, and i 40. Bodkin was delated due to travel issues, and some of his visuals could not be seen for those attending online, but the overall presentation indicated impressive inter-departmental efforts. Bodkin made a point that the DOT cannot fund projects with the stated goal of improving corridors specifically for wildlife travel, in many cases corridor improvements also can reduce injuries among those in vehicles, so joint work is common. The state DOT has developed, and the two presenters clarified the potential of developing plans given adequate funding.
Dates for Game Commission meetings for the 2025-2026 year were discussed and negotiated; they currently stand as:
April 25, 2025 – Roswell
June 13, 2025 – Red River
August 22, 2025 – Reserve
November 7, 2025 – Los Alamos
January 9, 2026 – Santa Fe
The Commission then went into executive session, as all other participants left at that time, this completes the available information.