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...

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...