New Mexico Wildlife Reform
In New Mexico, we cherish wildlife, which is deeply tied to our cultural traditions and sustains our $3.2 billion outdoor recreation economy through hunting, fishing, birdwatching and more. This legislative session, Pete Campos, Peter Wirth, Matthew McQueen and Crystal Brantley introduced New Mexico Senate Bill 5 addressing the need to reform the New Mexico Game Commission.
Today, the Department of Game & Fish is facing a funding crisis and operates under a patchwork of laws that leaves wildlife vulnerable to wildfire, flooding and drought. Meanwhile, our State Game Commission has been politicized. That’s why a broad coalition of hunters and anglers, conservationists, and animal rights protection groups is working to pass a reform package in the 2025 session. The effort has three goals: update the Department of Game & Fish’s mission, fix the State Game Commission, and provide funding to sustain our hunting and fishing traditions while improving wildlife conditions.
Historically, our Department of Game & Fish has focused on hunting and fishing, but this does not reflect New Mexicans’ growing appreciation for watching, photographing, and otherwise enjoying wildlife through non-consumptive means. The Department lacks clear legislative authority to manage all wildlife in the state. Our current patchwork of laws leaves many wildlife species unprotected and at risk of losing habitats where they live, breed and migrate. Many of our native species are already in decline and are losing critical habitat due to new threats like wildfire, flooding and drought. This session, the legislature must pass a reform package that clarifies the law and updates the Department’s mission in statute. Nothing in this bill would change any existing laws affecting hunters, anglers, or private landowners. The reforms would empower our Department biologists to make wildlife management decisions using the best available science.
The Department of Game & Fish is overseen by our State Game Commission, an independent governing body charged with making wildlife management decisions for the benefit of all New Mexicans. Currently, Game Commission members are appointed by the Governor, with no specific qualifications for experience or expertise in wildlife management, and Commissioners can be removed at any time, for any reason. Unfortunately, the process has become politicized. This has led to an unstable and ineffective commission, which has often lacked a quorum to conduct business, and is subject to swings in ideology with changing administrations. Reforms would also establish more specific qualifications for education and experience, and ensure qualified Commissioners cannot be removed without cause. The reforms would also maintain a balance of urban and rural interests. They would also ensure the voices of farmers, ranchers, hunters, anglers, biologists, and wildlife conservationists are all represented.
There is a funding crisis at the Department of Game & Fish. Because it is an “enterprise agency”, it doesn’t receive money from the legislature to operate. Instead, it is funded mainly by hunting and fishing license fees. Those fees haven’t changed in almost 20 years, making the current system unsustainable to meet our modern day challenges. The Department needs a new source of non-license fee revenue to ensure wildlife conservation does not rest solely on the backs of hunters and anglers through license fees. We can do this in a step-by-step, phased-in approach that doesn’t break the bank. By providing a steady revenue stream, we can also leverage millions of dollars in federal matching grants for wildlife conservation efforts. This includes leveraging Farm Bill dollars that can help improve wildlife habitat on public and private lands. With the money it does have, the Department prioritizes game and fish, but additional funding is needed to address the biodiversity crisis in New Mexico.
Fortunately, the Department of Game & Fish is currently working to update and execute a State Wildlife Action Plan. This helps the Department identify and prioritize our “species of greatest conservation need” – which is a state list of wildlife with populations in decline or at risk of losing critical habitat. Funding this conservation work can help recover New Mexico’s native species so they don’t get put on the federal threatened or endangered list – which is more costly in the end. This session, we must pass a reform package to give the Department the tools, authority and funding to build a 21st century wildlife management system for future generations.
