C
canislatrans
Guest
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish will hear about what I have to say!
NMDGF may try to do the right things and keep most people happy about things that they are doing in Santa Fe, but in reality this idea could not be further from the truth!
New Mexico deer licenses used to be unlimited and over the counter for anyone that wanted to hunt deer here in this state. It did not matter if you were a resident or a nonresident, anybody could take advantage New Mexico?s deer hunting seasons if they wanted to. Then NMDGF finally did something right in 2005 by putting all of the deer hunts on a draw system and limiting the number of tags. So now any hunter that wants to hunt deer in this state must apply and be successful in drawing a tag. I strongly believe that hunters, sportsman and conservation groups made this happen for New Mexico. Personally, I love the fact that our public deer are placed in a lottery draw system the same as our Elk, Pronghorn, Oryx, and most other big game the state has to offer. However, things are not always what they seem here in this state! NMDGF is often very misleading by the actions it takes with state wildlife. And let me tell you why!
NMDGF is stuck right down in the middle of a major dilemma. To better understand the situation I will give you a brief history of how this all came to be. New Mexico is known for being a very agricultural state. Most farmers and ranchers here grow crops like alfalfa, cotton, livestock feed, and produce among other things. And for many years farmers have had problems with wildlife eating crops they grow. In some agricultural areas deer would eat or destroy so much of the crops that farmers were taking substantial financial losses in their operations and creating a hardship. So the agricultural industry called upon the state to help out and see what can be done. The state realized that wildlife is their responsibility and falls under the department of game and fish. NMDGF then created a Depredation Damage Stamp. Which is basically a fee added to every big game license sold to hunters. If you are a resident, the fee is $3.00 and if you are a nonresident the fee is $10.00. The money made from the fee is used to develop permanent solutions to chronic nuisance problems in the state. I'll let you decide what that means!
(*According to the 2005-2006 Draw 2 Odds Report on the NMDGF website the total number of big game licenses available with any and all weapons were as followed:
Pronghorn, Bighorn Sheep, Deer, Elk, Ibex, and Javalina all total 68,118. If that number alone represented only residents at $3.00 each, it's a total of $204,354.00 in DDS cash. That is not counting the number of Oryx, Barbary Sheep, Bear, Cougar, and other miscellaneous animals or even nonresident percentages. The NMDGF proclamation states that 78 percent of permits will go to residents while the other 22 percent will go to nonresidents. So you can imagine what the actual dollar amount might be with the 22 percent nonresident $10.00 fee added in to the whole equation. I am not sure if the agriculture industry is receiving any of this DDS money directly, but you do the math.* )
Might I add that while most of the states big game was already on the draw system before the DDS was put into place, the deer hunts were limited to the draw system. So between unlimited deer tags and the DDS now in place the agricultural problems of farmers and ranchers concerning wildlife seemed to be settled. Then pressure from the public, hunters, and organizations pushed for New Mexico deer to be placed on the draw system along with the other big game. So to satisfy residents and keep up with other western states the NMDGF went to a draw on all public deer hunts. Notice the word PUBLIC! As it turns out private deer hunts do not apply to the draw! So now it is a situation between private and public land deer hunting. All wildlife is considered to be property of the state here in New Mexico. Therefore if it is state property then it is also public property! This means that every deer in the state of New Mexico belongs to everyone who is a resident of the state. My deer is your deer and your deer is my deer. It is just that simple! Anyone who wants to hunt state deer on public land will need to apply for the public land draw hunt. Anyone successful in drawing the hunt will need to by a public land permit. The public land permit will allow a hunter to hunt both public and private land as long as the hunter has written permission from the landowner. Anyone who wants to hunt state deer on private land will not need to apply for a public land draw hunt. All that is needed is for the hunter to get written permission from the land owner and buy a private land permit. The private land permit will allow a hunter to hunt private land only. With elk and antelope the draw has nothing to do with public or private in the way that deer does. To hunt these species a hunter either puts in for the public draw or purchase landowner tags.
For example: A landowner owns a very large ranch in some great elk country. Based on how much land is owned and the number of animals the landowner will be given a specified number of tags from NMDGF. It is then the landowners that may sale or do whatever he wishes with the tags. If the landowner has 6 tags for bull elk, then that is all that can be taken off his private property. And a hunter might have the option to buy a tag for one of the bulls on his land that he would not normally have access to.
Currently, a New Mexico landowner in deer country can allow an unlimited amount of hunters on his private land to hunt public, state deer. There are no landowner tags! Let me give you a worst case scenario for why I don't agree with what is going on in this state!
Let's say that there is a landowner that is farming alfalfa on a very large section of his land in good deer country. He is fed up with the deer eating his crops and destroying his property! He tells every one of is hunting pals to come hunt on his land during whatever weapon season they want. And that if they want to bring some others along to hunt as well, that is just fine. The more hunters, the better! So after all the seasons are over the landowner had succeeded in getting 35 state bucks off his land. Some of which are big 10 points. So the next year tells his close friends he would like them to come back to hunt but he wants $200.00 a gun. So he has made $3000.00 off his friends and another $1500.00 off of two guys he didn't know that just asked to hunt his land because they did not draw for the public hunt. So in the last two years he has taken over 50 bucks off is land and has made a little cash doing it. And now he plans to grow a select few monster bucks every year and make a side business every hunting season. On top of that his crops are doing better than they have ever done and the hunters are still paying the DDS fee.
Do see where this could go! It does not matter if the deer in this state are on public or private land they are all state and therefore public property! And I don't like the fact that landowners can allow unlimited hunters on their private property to kill as many public deer as they wish! I realize that most landowners are not at all what I gave as an example. But the NMDGF needs to make the deer draw the same as every other big game drawing in the state. I dislike the way it is now so much that I refuse to hunt any other way than to apply for a public hunt and hope I draw for it. I do have access and permission to hunt private lands should I choose, but I refuse to hunt that way. I have been lucky the past two years and have fairly drawn out both elk and deer. However, if I apply for public land deer hunts in the future and don't draw, I will not turn around and hunt private land just so that I can go deer hunting even though I already have permission!
For those of you that have taken the time to read this whole thing I thank you. I would like for you to voice your opinion on this and let me know what you think. So consider this a petition, because I will be sending up to the state and organizations like SFW, NRA, NMDGF, and whoever else I think will help the situation. If nothing else contact New Mexico?s elected government officials up in Santa Fe and tell them! Thank you!
NMDGF may try to do the right things and keep most people happy about things that they are doing in Santa Fe, but in reality this idea could not be further from the truth!
New Mexico deer licenses used to be unlimited and over the counter for anyone that wanted to hunt deer here in this state. It did not matter if you were a resident or a nonresident, anybody could take advantage New Mexico?s deer hunting seasons if they wanted to. Then NMDGF finally did something right in 2005 by putting all of the deer hunts on a draw system and limiting the number of tags. So now any hunter that wants to hunt deer in this state must apply and be successful in drawing a tag. I strongly believe that hunters, sportsman and conservation groups made this happen for New Mexico. Personally, I love the fact that our public deer are placed in a lottery draw system the same as our Elk, Pronghorn, Oryx, and most other big game the state has to offer. However, things are not always what they seem here in this state! NMDGF is often very misleading by the actions it takes with state wildlife. And let me tell you why!
NMDGF is stuck right down in the middle of a major dilemma. To better understand the situation I will give you a brief history of how this all came to be. New Mexico is known for being a very agricultural state. Most farmers and ranchers here grow crops like alfalfa, cotton, livestock feed, and produce among other things. And for many years farmers have had problems with wildlife eating crops they grow. In some agricultural areas deer would eat or destroy so much of the crops that farmers were taking substantial financial losses in their operations and creating a hardship. So the agricultural industry called upon the state to help out and see what can be done. The state realized that wildlife is their responsibility and falls under the department of game and fish. NMDGF then created a Depredation Damage Stamp. Which is basically a fee added to every big game license sold to hunters. If you are a resident, the fee is $3.00 and if you are a nonresident the fee is $10.00. The money made from the fee is used to develop permanent solutions to chronic nuisance problems in the state. I'll let you decide what that means!
(*According to the 2005-2006 Draw 2 Odds Report on the NMDGF website the total number of big game licenses available with any and all weapons were as followed:
Pronghorn, Bighorn Sheep, Deer, Elk, Ibex, and Javalina all total 68,118. If that number alone represented only residents at $3.00 each, it's a total of $204,354.00 in DDS cash. That is not counting the number of Oryx, Barbary Sheep, Bear, Cougar, and other miscellaneous animals or even nonresident percentages. The NMDGF proclamation states that 78 percent of permits will go to residents while the other 22 percent will go to nonresidents. So you can imagine what the actual dollar amount might be with the 22 percent nonresident $10.00 fee added in to the whole equation. I am not sure if the agriculture industry is receiving any of this DDS money directly, but you do the math.* )
Might I add that while most of the states big game was already on the draw system before the DDS was put into place, the deer hunts were limited to the draw system. So between unlimited deer tags and the DDS now in place the agricultural problems of farmers and ranchers concerning wildlife seemed to be settled. Then pressure from the public, hunters, and organizations pushed for New Mexico deer to be placed on the draw system along with the other big game. So to satisfy residents and keep up with other western states the NMDGF went to a draw on all public deer hunts. Notice the word PUBLIC! As it turns out private deer hunts do not apply to the draw! So now it is a situation between private and public land deer hunting. All wildlife is considered to be property of the state here in New Mexico. Therefore if it is state property then it is also public property! This means that every deer in the state of New Mexico belongs to everyone who is a resident of the state. My deer is your deer and your deer is my deer. It is just that simple! Anyone who wants to hunt state deer on public land will need to apply for the public land draw hunt. Anyone successful in drawing the hunt will need to by a public land permit. The public land permit will allow a hunter to hunt both public and private land as long as the hunter has written permission from the landowner. Anyone who wants to hunt state deer on private land will not need to apply for a public land draw hunt. All that is needed is for the hunter to get written permission from the land owner and buy a private land permit. The private land permit will allow a hunter to hunt private land only. With elk and antelope the draw has nothing to do with public or private in the way that deer does. To hunt these species a hunter either puts in for the public draw or purchase landowner tags.
For example: A landowner owns a very large ranch in some great elk country. Based on how much land is owned and the number of animals the landowner will be given a specified number of tags from NMDGF. It is then the landowners that may sale or do whatever he wishes with the tags. If the landowner has 6 tags for bull elk, then that is all that can be taken off his private property. And a hunter might have the option to buy a tag for one of the bulls on his land that he would not normally have access to.
Currently, a New Mexico landowner in deer country can allow an unlimited amount of hunters on his private land to hunt public, state deer. There are no landowner tags! Let me give you a worst case scenario for why I don't agree with what is going on in this state!
Let's say that there is a landowner that is farming alfalfa on a very large section of his land in good deer country. He is fed up with the deer eating his crops and destroying his property! He tells every one of is hunting pals to come hunt on his land during whatever weapon season they want. And that if they want to bring some others along to hunt as well, that is just fine. The more hunters, the better! So after all the seasons are over the landowner had succeeded in getting 35 state bucks off his land. Some of which are big 10 points. So the next year tells his close friends he would like them to come back to hunt but he wants $200.00 a gun. So he has made $3000.00 off his friends and another $1500.00 off of two guys he didn't know that just asked to hunt his land because they did not draw for the public hunt. So in the last two years he has taken over 50 bucks off is land and has made a little cash doing it. And now he plans to grow a select few monster bucks every year and make a side business every hunting season. On top of that his crops are doing better than they have ever done and the hunters are still paying the DDS fee.
Do see where this could go! It does not matter if the deer in this state are on public or private land they are all state and therefore public property! And I don't like the fact that landowners can allow unlimited hunters on their private property to kill as many public deer as they wish! I realize that most landowners are not at all what I gave as an example. But the NMDGF needs to make the deer draw the same as every other big game drawing in the state. I dislike the way it is now so much that I refuse to hunt any other way than to apply for a public hunt and hope I draw for it. I do have access and permission to hunt private lands should I choose, but I refuse to hunt that way. I have been lucky the past two years and have fairly drawn out both elk and deer. However, if I apply for public land deer hunts in the future and don't draw, I will not turn around and hunt private land just so that I can go deer hunting even though I already have permission!
For those of you that have taken the time to read this whole thing I thank you. I would like for you to voice your opinion on this and let me know what you think. So consider this a petition, because I will be sending up to the state and organizations like SFW, NRA, NMDGF, and whoever else I think will help the situation. If nothing else contact New Mexico?s elected government officials up in Santa Fe and tell them! Thank you!
