NM G&F proposals of changes to Comish.

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hank4elk

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Just happened to see a NM Comision meeting with review & recomendations by the G&F dept. on YT.Long mother. Thought I would post here to let folks know there are some changes propossed by the Head Biologist & such for most all major game. Exotics included.
Not so much major, but some good ones,IMHO.
I cut it off to take a break on this windy day to post some.
Elk, primitive weapons units 13 & 15 be somewhat just that,no scopes. Same with 34 & 36 if I am not mistaken. Too many long shooters & success rate sky high,quality decline.

Now this rule sounds like a big one in that they suggest the same with deer in some MZ hunts. Scopes would be allowed during AW hunts (any weapon) I believe.
Also changes to some elk hunts in numbers for some units. Adjustments in cow hunts too. Some very popular units.
Elk doing good overall.

Deer as stated some changes I think could help the herd number decline. Changes to help quality in quality units. Deer holding steady with last years good monsoon for most part.
Antelope holding steady with few changes.
There will be changes in exotics too. Both on & off range.
Turkeys too.

22% increase in draw tags and 26% in resident tags, they say. I stopped at the migratory bird break...

I will say it was one of the most civil meetings I have seen since I moved here to NM. And I have been to a few.
Comments were limited to the usual suspects, Cattlemen, outfitters, NMWF, a lady from Western LO Alliance, and a few by zoom. Like one of each.
Good questions and inquires from a few board members.
Maybe because of covid & economy so few? Or that these are just proposals to rule changes. No clamoring crowds or bad vibes.

I have known Stewart Lily for some time, since he 1st started in SW district as elk biologist and he helped me with my ranch . And as head he has done a very good job, IMHO. He knows this stuff & his staff is good too.
I wasn't so sure when he started. I give him an A over all.

But I have seen elk increase here & now hold steady , deer hold steady & get cuts in harvest to help the herds. Quality & opportunity tightrope walking well done. I travel thru several of NM units here and see.
Antelope holding.

Exotics kept in check with increased opportunites. Scopes again on MZ will be limited or none.


Some good news over all I believe in this wacky day & age.
 
...and it falls short of progress when the R/NR split on BH/DBS comes up at the end, needlessly at this point. Only 4 members present and the subject up bringer walks out, leaving no quorum.
This subject is a legislative one and not up to the Comish to decide without getting sued, again. Turk...
see how civil it is when they come back.
 
There were a handful of deer hunts that had remained "primitive muzzleloader" since they first allowed scopes on most other hunts, I have no problem expanding that into more hunts, but it's sort of closing the barn door after the horse left.

I went to a meeting sometime in the 90's to oppose the change allowing scopes, but it was obvious the "fix was in". Wish we had kept it like CO or ID, but so be it.
 
NMGuy said:
Not so fast, proposed change for 34 to be Secondary Zone with unlimited OTC tags. Plus they want to increase cow harvest.
Click to expand...
Unlimited private land OTC?

Not that it would be much better but it would be better than just “unlimited OTC tags.”
 
NMGuy said:
Not so fast, proposed change for 34 to be Secondary Zone with unlimited OTC tags. Plus they want to increase cow harvest.
Click to expand...

jeezus h
They tried to shoot the top end out of the unit back when they had youth rifle hunts the end of sept. They won't be happy till their all gone.
 
Balance is a tough call.

34 & 36 get the quality for elk from the Mescalero Rez. now. Too many hunters in the units. If you want the quality cut the bull tags. Or make them OIL.
Herd growth is controlled by cow hunts in NM and too many elk in the south/34 on the desert deer country and in cattle country so the balance is OTC cow hunts, limited by harvest.
Trying to keep the deer quality high is a struggle there too.

13 & 15 have been MZ elk units for years. Taking scopes out will reduce success rates and raise quality again. I have no problem with that. I can take the scope off if I draw.

Or I can pass on 13 15 & use my scoped MZ in a AW hunt unit. Those 1000 yrd shot guys can do that elsewhere in AW units.
AW is any weapon. There are no strictly rifle hunts in NM for elk or deer that I see.
There are a few primitive deer hunts elsewhere in state. 15 has no AW deer either. 13 does allow AW deer.

BHS DBHS R/NR issue could be quickly resolved with the same language as for the elk. Be aware that NR may not get drawn if numbers don't add up.
Also I do not understand how the bundleing BS works. How can you apply for 9 hunts with 3 draw choices?
Make them one choice and pick a season/hunt. Not 3 choices and 3 choices of hunt season for each hunt code.
Or they are resident only hunts? Too few sheep as far as I am concerned to ever hunt them,IMHO.

Lots to reflect on in the rule changes. Mostly good from what I can see and understand the reasoning for.
Lets hope political games do not raise its head again in the next 2 meetings before approval in Aug.

...and e-plus is not in this rule book change. Take up the torch when it comes up in couple years again if you so choose. Just sayin. I know it was brought up and that was not a discussion to have this time.
 
The wife and I had some beers last night with one of the biologists. Her and I agreed that the quality in 15 has gone down hill a bit. We agreed on several things that could be the causes. Removing scopes will drop the harvest rate and eventually will open the door for few more tags available in the draw. More opportuity for hunters (R/NR). Hey the outfitters association was backing the removal of scopes for MZ.
 
I hope they do away with scopes on muzzleloader ! With the new MZ’ers it’s like hunting with a rifle during the rut, I’ve seen guys kill bulls easy at 500 to 700 yards… no bueno !! Been seeing the quality of bulls going down hill for a while. Guys that spend $8,000 or more on a muzzy and scope would have to learn how to hunt.
 
One of the issues in GMU 15 is also roads. Too many in my opinion. FS updated motor vehicle maps few years back. Closed a decent amount of roads in 15. A year later all the signs pulled out or run over. Hell, every spring I find new two tracks from UTVs and jeeps driving looking for sheds. The next year these roads will turn into highways during hunting season. Some of these old closed roads simply go several hundred yards into a draw and end. Guys can't even walk the several hundred yards up the draw.
 
Hadn't seen it posted yet, the NR Sheep "hunt codes" will stay as they are.

"...
In sum, the current population levels of Rocky Mountain and Desert bighorn
sheep make it impossible for the Commission and the Department to assign a
single hunt code to each hunt area during each hunt window for the bighorn
sheep hunting season without running afoul of the statutory allocation
requirements for resident and nonresident hunters dictated by Section 17-3-
16(B). We therefore believe that a court would agree that the Commission’s
application of the term “hunt code” to its rules regulating the bighorn sheep
hunting season is lawful, in that it incorporates the elements [species, weapon
type, time frame, specific hunt] that make up the definition of “hunt code”, while
also giving effect to the requirements of Section 17-3-16 (B)."
 
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