Road blocks in New Mexico

[Gila]

I doubt that you will ever see universal BCs in New Mexico. Also, here your vehicle is considered your castle, just like your home. You have more protections here against search and siezure than in most states. Roadblocks absolutely are effective in addition to trying to cover millions of acres. The roadblocks are for anglers as well. The Gila and Rio Grande cutthroat trout are threatened species. Having a Gila trout stamp funds protection and management for those trout.

 

[bullbugle307]

In my state, GF officers can search your vehicle, camp, boat, home, person, etc. all without securing a warrant if they think a game violation may have taken place. I don't worry about run ins with wardens as I've always been happy to see them and talk and I usually gain valuable information. Of all the many wardens I've ever met recreating and working as a temp at an agency, I can only think of a couple that I didn't care for. The thing I find funny is that a lot of people laugh when I call them supercops. I guess they don't understand the wardens have rights and jurisdiction way beyond local cops, state troopers, sheriff's, and even feds in some ways. If they wanna search you, by god they're gonna search you.

 

[plumber1969]

I am not certain of the legality of these searches. I am by no means a lawyer, but what legal right constitutes these searches? Just because I am driving through? You have to give consent for an officer to search your vehicle in Florida and I've hunted in Colorado and New Mexico and have never been stopped but I am asking for my own ignorance. Can someone post the statute

 

[hank4elk]

The NMG&F RB's I have seen usually have several LEO agencies operating with them,USFS,local SO & Staties.
I have been checked in camp & at my truck by NMG&F. No biggie. Answer a couple ?'s & show paperwork. I am hunting afterall & not hiding it.

 

[RockinU]

In more years hunting and fishing than I care to number, I've had innumerable good interactions with wardens, and only 1 bad one, and I can tell you that that 1 bad one can color your views of the extent of their power enough to make you question the wisdom of it.

I'm always polite, and cooperative, but will also forever be skeptical because of 1 event.

 

[plumber1969]

In more years hunting and fishing than I care to number, I've had innumerable good interactions with wardens, and only 1 bad one, and I can tell you that that 1 bad one can color your views of the extent of their power enough to make you question the wisdom of it.

I'm always polite, and cooperative, but will also forever be skeptical because of 1 event.

This is the boat I am in as well. As a veteran with over 10 years of service, to be treated like a criminal by a punk kid was not only demeaning but infuriating as well. I have always been respectful but relinquishing my rights to have someone search my boat, vehicle or camp without cause is overreaching and does nothing to stop poaching and other illegal activities.

 

[Gila]

The NMG&F RB's I have seen usually have several LEO agencies operating with them,USFS,local SO & Staties.
I have been checked in camp & at my truck by NMG&F. No biggie. Answer a couple ?'s & show paperwork. I am hunting afterall & not hiding it.

Absolutely!

Really, its no big deal, they could just wave you through anyway. The COs I have come to know here are a good bunch of guys. They are more help than anything else. Most of the time we end up swamping hunting and fishing tales. I didn't realize that there was so much controversy. My main purpose for posting was to inform the newcomers. Also, I reckon that if those ahead of me have their paperwork handy and their ducks in a row, that I would get through the line quicker!

 

[Gila]

Oh...quite a few COs are combat vets these days...their service and dedication should not be overlooked!

 

[TheJason]

We should not forfeit due process to aid law enforcement in their impossible task.

It is not a forfeiture of due process. It is an intrusion upon your civil rights that the courts have deemed reasonable, given the fact hunting and fishing is a highly regulated activity that may impact a public resource. This has been challenged and upheld, provided the officers can articulate reasonable suspicion the person(s) are, have been, or are about to engage in the act of hunting and/or fishing.

 

[TheJason]

How effective are these road blocks in enforcing conservation laws?

Sometimes very much so.

 

[TheJason]

If they wanna search you, by god they're gonna search you.

Not necessarily in a lawful manner.

 

[Gila]

Hunting and fishing are privileges...just like driving....not rights. As long as a person follows the rules and regulations, there should be no issues with road checks. Dispute your property taxes with the county assessor sometime and you will come home with a different perspective of what is unfair and unjust.

 

[mtmuley]

Hunting and fishing are privileges..

http://www.ncsl.org/research/enviro...te-constitutional-right-to-hunt-and-fish.aspx mtmuley

 

[TheJason]

Edit: reasonable suspicion and/or probable cause should be the standard for searching some one. Perhaps knowing someone is/was hunting is enough but it still makes me bristle.

It is. Don’t know why folks think it’s not

 

[Gila]

21 states....still a long row to hoe. Unfortunately, NM ain't one of them. However NM is a hunting, fishing and gun friendly state. Also, New Mexico is probably the most friendly Veteran state in the union.

 

[RockinU]

Hunting and fishing are privileges...just like driving....not rights. As long as a person follows the rules and regulations, there should be no issues with road checks. Dispute your property taxes with the county assessor sometime and you will come home with a different perspective of what is unfair and unjust.

I agree with you that there should be no issues, but wardens are people, and just like any cross-section of people, some are better than others. In one experience out of I don't even know how many I was treated unfairly and unjustly by a warden. I don't want it to color how I interact with wardens going forward, because there were a couple that I know that stood up for me during the process I was forced to go through, but I do have a dose of skepticism now when I have contact with one I don't know.

 

[AggieOutlaw]

It is not a forfeiture of due process. It is an intrusion upon your civil rights that the courts have deemed reasonable, given the fact hunting and fishing is a highly regulated activity that may impact a public resource. This has been challenged and upheld, provided the officers can articulate reasonable suspicion the person(s) are, have been, or are about to engage in the act of hunting and/or fishing.

Reasonable cause is not a violation of civil rights at all. Road blocks imply zero reasonable cause. If I have antlers in the back, by all means ask for my tag and license. If I’m in camo, not so much.

 

[AggieOutlaw]

Sometimes very much so.

Sometimes it’s very effective. That sounds like a terrible standard of justice.

Gun confiscations would be very effective at stopping some of the crime.

 

[TheJason]

Sometimes it’s very effective. That sounds like a terrible standard of justice.

Gun confiscations would be very effective at stopping some of the crime.

Red herring.

 

[AggieOutlaw]

Hunting and fishing are privileges...just like driving....not rights. As long as a person follows the rules and regulations, there should be no issues with road checks. Dispute your property taxes with the county assessor sometime and you will come home with a different perspective of what is unfair and unjust.

I strongly disagree with you. The “nothing to hide argument” enables statists to infringe on privacy and civil liberties. It truly is a slippery slope to the police/surveillance state. And I truly have nothing to hide.