FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 11, 2025  Contact: media@backcountryhunters.org    MISSOULA, Mont. — Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) is rebuking a sweeping new proposal released by the Senate...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  April 22, 2025  Contact:  Kaden McArthur, Director of Policy & Government Relations, mcarthur@backcountryhunters.org    BHA Pushes for Permanent Protections of Two Iconic...

SB 5, signed into law in 2025, brings major updates to wildlife governance in New Mexico. It renames the State Game Commission as the State Wildlife Commission and changes the Department of Game...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   March 18, 2025      CONTACT:   Devin O’Dea, Western Policy & Conservation Manager, odea@backcountryhunters.org     Denver, CO – In a huge victory for public land owners,...

Have you been paying attention to your local public lands? Sierra, Otero, and Catron counties recently passed anti-public lands resolutions, and now Luna County is next. The attack on our public...

This is your March 4th edition of BHA's Western Policy Spotter - a high-level scan of state policy and legislation impacting wild public lands, waters and wildlife across the West. Note - this...

BHA Supports Senate Bill 291 At Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, we fight to protect wild places, fair chase hunting, and responsible fishing. But none of that matters if our fish and game laws...

The New Mexico Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (NM BHA) supports Senate Bill 5 (SB 5) and has worked with legislators and hook and bullet partners to ensure the hunting and angling...

New Mexico Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Don't miss your chance to connect with fellow hunters and anglers at the upcoming New Mexico Outdoor Adventures Show. NMBHA will be selling...

Welcome to your first glimpse of BHA's Western Policy Spotter - a high-level scan of state policy and legislation impacting wild public lands, waters and wildlife across the West. Much like...

After many years of unsuccessful attempts at reforming the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, a new bill is speeding through the 2025 legislative session. The New Mexico Chapter of...

Recognizing Caja del Rio as an Ancestral Homeland The Caja del Rio holds profound significance as an ancestral homeland for Indigenous communities, including the Pueblo people who have lived,...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dec. 13, 2024 Contact:  Kaden McArthur, Government Relations Manager mcarthur@backcountryhunters.org Two-Year Protection Initiated For Pecos River Watershed Washington, D.C....

Since 2021, the family of late game commissioner and conservationist David Soules has generously donated a private land elk authorization to New Mexico BHA with the aim of getting one more public...

Friday March 8, 2024 Albuquerque, NM   The meeting began shortly after 9 a.m. with the Commission roll call. Commissioners present included Tirzio Lopez (Vice-Chair), Fernando Clemente, Sharon...

Friday August 25, 2023 Raton, NM All Commissioners were present: Attending in-person: Commissioners Tirzio Lopez (Vice Chair), Sharon Salazar-Hickey, Fernando Clemente, Ed Garcia Attending...

Currently the New Mexico State Game Commission is undergoing rulemaking for bear and cougar with a goal to, “Maintain sustainable bear and cougar populations and hunting opportunities throughout...

Friday July 21, 2023 Albuquerque, NM   Attending in-person: Commissioners Tirzio Lopez (Vice Chair), Sharon Salazar-Hickey, Fernando Clemente Attending Virtually: Commissioner Greg Fulfer Not...

Fifth in a series Many private landowners in New Mexico with elk on their property are eligible to participate in EPLUS. Not all of them qualify – they first have to exhibit verifiable benefits...

Quality public hunting and fishing access consistently tops the list of issues outdoorsmen and women expect Backcountry Hunters & Anglers to help tackle.  The need for recreational access only...

Fourth in a series To understand how a small number of landowners controls a third of the elk hunts in New Mexico, you have to start on the ground – where the elk are most concentrated versus...

Third in a series Almost every state in the West has a private land hunting program for elk – Arizona being the exception – but it’s hard to imagine any program more complicated than EPLUS. We’ve...

(Second in a series) Most western states have a “private land” program for elk hunting, but New Mexico’s EPLUS – the Elk Private Land Use System – is arguably the most liberal landowner tag...

First in a series Elk, bighorn sheep, antelope and other big game species were drastically reduced or wiped out entirely by the time New Mexico became a state in 1912, due to a combination of...

The State Game Commission stood up for everyday New Mexico anglers, boaters and others today and rejected attempts to shut down public access to five stretches of New Mexico streams. Meeting...

State Game Commission member Gail Cramer, of Mayhill, unexpectedly resigned this week. It comes just months after the sudden death of Commissioner David Soules, of Las Cruces, which means Gov....

In a move that surprised both sides in the acrimonious debate over stream access, State Game Commission Chairwoman Sharon Salazar Hickey has delayed the decision on closing portions of five...

Over the objections of thousands of individuals and organizations, including NMBHA, the proposed statewide ban on public lands trapping took a crucial step toward becoming law Sunday...

An all-out ban on public lands trapping throughout New Mexico known as the “Wildlife Conservation & Public Safety Act” inched closer Friday night when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted in...

A ban on trapping on public lands throughout New Mexico is a step closer after the Senate Conservation Committee today (Tuesday, Feb. 2) voted by a wide margin to approve it. Senate Bill 32, known...

NMBHA recently submitted comments opposing a planned dolomite mine on BLM land in the Florida Mountains – ground zero for New Mexico’s unique ibex hunt and adjacent to the Florida Mountains...

The state constitution says all waters in New Mexico belong to the public. In 1945, the state Supreme Court ruled that all waters should be open to the public for recreational use, provided the...

Waterfowl hunters in the Rio Grande Valley lost a small but important hunting area this week after the State Land Office (SLO) closed it to public access – perhaps in violation of the SLO lease...

The U.S. Forest Service is currently in the process of developing plans that will direct the management of more than 3 million acres of your National Forest lands in Northern New Mexico for the...

Our national forests play host to a wide variety of users, not least of whom are sportsmen and women. Totaling nearly 190 million acres across the United States, national forests are critical to...

Once again there is an attempt brewing to transfer money ($500k this time) from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) to the State Parks Division. This has been proposed multiple...

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers members in New Mexico will vote in several crucial elections in 2018 that will ultimately affect hunting, fishing, wildlife management and public lands in our state....

If a single landscape can embody the true wonder of the Land of Enchantment, it is the Valles Caldera National Preserve, in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico. The caldera is the...

New Mexico Backcountry Hunters & Anglers members will vote in several crucial elections in 2018 that will affect hunting, fishing, and the management of wildlife and public lands, including...

New Mexico anglers know all too well that the Land of Enchantment has precious few fishable streams, and that many sections of those rivers and streams are closed to the public. What most anglers...

Until very recently sportsmen and women had given up on hunting the elk, deer, turkey and even Barbary sheep that inhabit the Sabinoso Wilderness in northeastern New Mexico. Managed by the...

Senate leaders have cleared a path forward for passage of the first comprehensive energy bill in almost a decade. But your help is vital in getting it across the finish line! The Energy Policy...

Dear Secretary Vilsack,On behalf of the undersigned organizations representing thousands of New Mexican sportsmen and women, we are writing to express our strong support for the recent Gila...

                                                                        September 20, 2013To:     New Mexico Game & Fish CommissionFrom: New Mexico Chapter, Backcountry Hunters & AnglersIssue: ...

The following is a letter submitted by members of NM BHA to the Cibola National regarding a proposal to permit intensive military operations in otherwise relatively undisturbed backcountry...

New Mexico BHA has been working to build on the already-overwhelming breadth of support among sportsmen who agree that the Columbine Hondo Wilderness Study Area should be permanently protected as...

The following is a joint press release submitted by NM BHA, NM Wildlife Federation and Trout Unlimited in support of legislation that would provide permanent wilderness protection in two areas...

Located in Taos County just East of the recently-designated Rio Grande del Norte National Monument (242, 555 acres), is a section of wild country that has long been recognized by sportsmen for its...