NMDGF Proposal -- Antelope Landowner Tags

Heads up to people not following all the proposals. NMDGF is proposing major changes to antelope tag management.

My take always:
-unlimited landowner tags that can be sold for profit
-no public access to private ranches
-increase in public land tags

http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/dow...ve-Pronghorn-Hunt-Management-Presentation.pdf

http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/dow...rnative-Pronghorn-Hunt-Management-Summary.pdf


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Public meetings will address proposed changes
in pronghorn rule
SANTA FE ?The Department of Game and Fish is seeking public comment on proposed revisions to the pronghorn rule.
The Department is proposing changes to how pronghorn are hunted in New Mexico, structuring pronghorn hunts similarly to how deer are hunted in the state. This will provide increased opportunity for public and private-land hunters.
Improved pronghorn survey methods have resulted in better biological data from which to base harvest recommendations. Additionally, the department has heard various concerns regarding the current Antelope Private Land Use System (A-PLUS). The department is developing recommendations to be implemented for the start of the 2019-2020 hunting season.
To gather public comments, four public meetings will be conducted:
Albuquerque: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Department of Game and Fish office, 3841 Midway Place, NE.
Las Vegas: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at the New Mexico State Police Office, 520 South Commerce.
Roswell: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Department of Game and Fish office, 1912 W. Second St.
Las Cruces: 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Department of Game and Fish office, 2715 Northrise Drive.
The proposal can be viewed on the Department's website, www.wildlife.nm.us. Comments on the proposed changes can be provided by mail: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Attn: Nicole Quintana, P.O. Box 25112, Santa Fe, NM 87504; by email, [email protected]; or in person at one of the meetings listed above.

So is the main change doing away with public draw licenses assigned to ranch and just let public licensees find their own access?

Under the new rule you would no longer be assigned a ranch to hunt. You could only hunt ACCESSIBLE public land. Land locked public land would be off limits. Currently system frees up some of this land locked Public Land to hunt if you are assigned that ranch.

Not to mention ranchers hate them because the eat the grass down to the roots. Some ranchers will issue tons of tags to get rid of them. This would be as devastating as the wolves.

A few of my thoughts on these changes.

1) I don't see how they keep comparing deer to antelope.

2) If you look at the allocated tags (not Converted, but Allocated) already given and the public tags already given, in most cases those add up to more then their new projected total. There is common feeling among landowners it seems that there is not enough antelope to use all the tags they are given.

3) They talk about the Minimum Acreage and that many don't meet the minimum acreage, then do away with the minimum acreage. Do like the small contributing E-Plus and put all those that say there are antelope on their place into a draw and draw a given number of tags out of there ever year. Restrict these tags to their given ranch.

4) G&F complains about to many hunters in one ranch at once, under the current system they could already be able to create more hunt dates. They can still use their new hunt dates with the current system.

5) Ranchers that don't want to accommodate public hunters on their land that is split between public and private should not get tags. Also if the public land is accessible then public hunters should be able to hunt it.

6) I think you should still be assigned a ranch just like in the current system, but you should also be able to hunt any accessible public land that is not already in the A-Plus system. Like mentioned in #4, rancher that don't enter into the A-Plus and lease accessible public land, this public land should be able to be hunted by any one in the unit that DREW a tag in that unit. They can send you a map that shows your ranch and also shows all the accessible public land you can hunt that was not already included an A-Plus system ranch.

When I was lucky enough to draw out antelope in the unit I did, it was nice to be able to hunt a 20,000 acre ranch. If I would not have been able to do this I would have had very limited accessible public land to find antelope. I would have also been sharing the limited accessible public land with ALL the other draw hunters in that unit.

I don't like that I could draw out with 15 other people and all of us end up in the same piece of public land and all of us be able to shoot every last bucks in that area as well.

Sorry, one last thing. I also don't like the over the counter idea. If Joe Blow owns 20 acres and has never seen a antelope on his place, but all the sudden a couple days before antelope season sees 5 bucks on his land, is now able to get a tag. I don't mind if he is able to get ONE tag, but with 5 bucks there he can now get him and four friends a tag and kill all 5 of those bucks. He knows they won't be there again on his land and he is not hunting for management at that point, but the tags are over the counter and he would have the ability to shoot all 5.

Reminder the Albuquerque Meeting is Tomorrow October 12th.

I'm strongly opposed to the proposed changes. Regrettably, I won't be able to attend the meeting because ALbuquerque Public Schools (APS) has fall break on Thurs and Friday. I'm heading to Durango for the weekend with the family.

I hope people show up other wise they will just think everyone likes it.