I wanted to put something together that will make it easy for everyone to send their thoughts/opinions on this bill directly to the people that are making the decision.

For info on the bil go here.
http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/_session.aspx?chamber=S&legtype=B&legno=%20196&year=11

New Mexico Senate Bill SB196 has passed the Senate and is headed to the New Mexico House of Representatives. With this bill, regular non-resident applicants will be limited up to 6% of the total number of tags where guided hunters (residents and non-residents) may get 10% of the tags for any given hunt!

New Mexico currently allocates permits in the antelope, Mule deer, and elk drawing as follows: 78% to residents, 12% to non-residents contracted with an outfitter, and 10% to regular non-resident applicants. This bill in the New Mexico legislature would eliminate the current allocation to non-residents giving 84% to residents and 10% to non-residents and residents who contract with an outfitter and only 6% to regular non-resident applicants.

In addition to the split the bill considers implementing the requirement to purchase a non-refundable hunting license to apply which is estimated at $65 for non-residents as well as other non-refundable application fees.

It is our understanding that the changes listed below have strong support and have a great chance to pass:

- Permit allocation: 84% to resident, 10% to non-residents and residents with an outfitter, and 6% to regular non-resident applicants.
- Add a required $65 non-fundable hunting license to apply (plus regular application fees per species)
- ALL antlerless and WMA permits to residents only
- Still no point system
- Allocation may apply to other species as well (sheep, oryx, and ibex)

Bill details: http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/_session.aspx?chamber=S&legtype=B&legno=%20196&year=11

If this passes it will greatly affect all non-resident opportunity to hunt New Mexico. No matter what your opinion is of these potential changes to New Mexico permit allocation and the application process, we encourage you to voice your thoughts. New Mexico needs to hear from non-residents!

The bill is currently in the Consumer and Public Affairs Committee.

You can/should contact every House representative in that committee from the New Mexico website http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/committeedisplay.aspx?CommitteeCode=HCPAC.

gailchasey@msn.com
rep16@moejustice.com
kb5ysg@arrl.net
askdennis@denniskintigh.com
oneillhd15@fastmail.us

I have no problem with the state of New Mexico showing preference to it's residents. That is their right. I would hope Texas views hunting/permit issues the same way.

Everyone is free to their own opinion, but you should take in to account all the facts. (If you haven't already)

2 big points to consider-

Residents pay $70 for elk tags where NR pay $789. That's almost 9 X more preference.

Also - Most of the public land that is hunted is Federal Land. Meaning: all residents of the US should have equal oppertunity to hunt that land.

If accurate, that's an interesting point.

In regards to New Mexico Senate Bill SB196, I had been following that original bill when it was first introduced, and see that there have been some major modifications to it, which was not surprising. Initially, it did not provide allocations for the non-res/outfitter and the non-resident allocation was only 10%.

However, that disparity between resident and non-resident hunting fees for all the big game remains and and based upon last years tags issued, amounted to over $1 million difference! The major issue is that the residents have been complaining for years is that they are not getting the opportunity to hunt in their own back yard! That appears to have been resolved with this bill, however fewer non-residents still get to pay from 3 to 10 times more than the resident in order to hunt on Federal lands!

I assume that the NMGFD's mandatory hunting license fee will help to offset the loss of the income from the 4% of the non-residents that are now being eliminated? Plus NMGFD started last year, the requirement of paying for the respective big game license in advance and when submitting the application. Persons not drawn would receive a refund for that big game fee only, with all other fees being retained.

It appears now, that New Mexico does not want the proliferation of non-resident hunters in their state, as well as the money that they would spend in their state! It also appears that New Mexico is fastly patterning themselves like their good neighbor - Arizona!

I have been fortunate to have been able to hunt in New Mexico 8 of the last 12 years, once with an outfitter and once via my cousin’s private land tag. However, I'm sure Colorado is going to welcome those changes that their neighbor to the south wants to put in place! Apparently, the non-resident hunter is accepted in their state!

Im pretty sure it is federal land. I believe texas was one of the few states that retained their land rights when they joined the union. The license fee does seem kind of bogus though.

New Mexico is under a budget crunch that is worse than Texas. Their legislature will pass whatever version of this bill that raises the greatest amount of money. Their only concern is how it hits their own taxpayers to keep the votes. Nonresident hunters brings in a lot annual revenue, it always has and it will in the future. Reducing the number of nonresident tags and giving them to locals keeps the vote.

The Federal land issue is really a non issue. The federal authorities do not make the game laws for non migratory animals. That we can be thankful for. The state of New Mexico controls the elk and deer permits, always has and in my opinion always should. Would anyone want the federal boys making the game laws for the state of Texas? I doubt it.

As nonresident hunters we can write all of the letters, make all of the phone calls we want to try get what we want. But in this case I think your letters and calls will be falling on blind eyes and deaf ears. If you want the benefits of a resident of New Mexico your choice is to move to New Mexico. Property taxes are a lot less, state sales taxes are a little less, but you get to pay a state income tax.

This is a no win situation for Non-Residents. Colorado and other states in the west already limit the number of licenses that Non-residents can get.

The percentages vary, but the limits are aleready in place.

Add to the the continueing increase in license/tag fees and such things as habitat stamps, that have to be purchased to be able to apply for a license.

Things are ponly going to get worse, not better, and No Texas is not going to do ANYTHING to discourage non-Residents from coming to our state.

Why should they, Texas is over 90% Private Land unlike the mountain states, which are predominantly Public Land, and the Feds are not going to get into the debate about what individual states want to charge for hunting or who they want to let hunt there.

I don't like what is going on any better than anyone else. I have a preference point for late season cow elk in Colorado, yet they keep going up on the license price, so I will probably never go back to Colorado to hunt.

The economy is catching up to all of us, in one way or another, increasing costs and limited opportunities, for what ever reason are just part of the whole problem.

I agree it would be wise for New Mexico to allow more non-residents... I know many hunters from California that go to NM to hunt

the cost of a non-resident liscense for me to hunt in texas is over 300.00, plus i then have to find a lease or hunt thru an outfitter, or high fence hunt in texas which costs 1000 up. so i have 1300 invested in a texas hunt to start with. the hunters that come to nm pay 750 for a elk hunt on forest land or blm. half as much as i pay going to texas, plus their out fitter cost which more or less guarentees them a tag if they hunt on a land owner tag if they use one.
the only real grip i see is the quanity of out of state tags avalible to the out of state hunters.and like it was pointed out earlier, the animals belong to the state. i know it seems like a lot of out of state liscense lost but the in state hunters need to have a better chance of getting drawn. dont hammer me too hard. but i just cant afford to hunt in texas when i can hunt in nm cheaper than texas. i wish i could hunt texas.

We always think the grass is greener across the fence, when in reality we have a better "pasture" right in our back yard.

The game animals of NM are viewed as the property of the states residents, thus the guaranteed right to hunt said game on state and federal property. Texas has a lot of university land, essentially state land, but the control of hunting the seasoned animals on said property is transferred to the lands leasee's.

i live 2 blocks from nm and i try to get drawn every year for cow elk. i study the units that do not have as many non residents put in and alot of units do not have any non residents that put in at all. now these units usually do not carry a ton of animals or like in Winston, unit 21b i believe, for instance you can get drawn but it is almost impossible to hunt anywhere with out accidentally stumbling onto a ranch that a outfitter has paid off to keep his gate closed. I know this will upset some but in my opinion 10% of tags should go to residents 85% should go to residents and 5% should go to residents with guides or the state should just award outfitters there own tags and leave them out of the draw altogether. Alot of guide services are double dipping into the system anyway and getting tags from land owners and the draw. they make good profit from those land owner tags. i guide for some and they do well. I am not bashing the outfitters but i do not want to give up my slim chance of getting drawn. Another thing i have seen is residents complain about non resident tags and that is why they did not get drawn, if you look at the units they are complaining most about it is the trophy units where there are 2500 - 3000 residents putting in for 250 tags. in that same unit only 25 of those tags will go to non residents and usually there will be on average 1000 non residents putting in, thus causing it to be a high demand unit.Still residents have a 10% chance in this senario and non residents are looking at 4%.Outfitters with guides are taking another 12% of the tags and then getting unit wide tags from ranches, i do not understand how a ranch gets a unit wide tag but that is a whole other discussion.
i will still put in but this has bothered me for awhile. I think that giving non residents 10% of the tags is not the problem or the solution. The revnue as stated earlier is 6 x as much for the state. I think that giving outfitters thier own tags is an option they should look at! I really am not bashing anyone just venting this is real close to home for me.

I love to hunt in NM, unfortunately, I may soon be priced out of their non-resident draw hunts. I sympathize with the residents, as I have heard the story that they have a hard time drawing tags for hunts. State govts continue to make hunting a rich man's venture. More kids nowadays would rather watch TV or play video games online. With higher prices and less demand, the future of hunting will only further be diminished. I agree with dogcatcher as complaints will fall upon deaf ears. I wonder if they have done a study on how much non-resident hunters bring into the state with hotel, gas, and restaurant business. I know some towns openly welcome non-resident hunters for the business they bring.

Short answer: They don't for public hunting. Not even close.



That $300 license gets you tags for a Mule Deer, 5 Whitetails, 4 Turkeys, and unlimited hogs and varmits in Tx. If you can find a lease to hunt its a pretty sweet deal.

The increase in the non-refundable license fee to $65 is a deal breaker for me. I don't have any PP's in NM nor does anyone else for that matter, so I will start applying for a new state besides the states I apply for now. I wont be applying for NM under the proposed new rules if it passes. I think they are betting on the additional cost to make up for the 4% loss in NR tag fee's but I feel like more NR's will not want to pay an extra $65 just to apply.

We own property in New Mexico, I could always change residency, but I prefer my Texas residency. I also do not get any special benefit even though I am a taxpayer of New Mexico. I pay the same as any other non resident, but I also do not pay state income tax.

If the state wants to offer more benefits to their residents, who am I to say no, when I am not funding any of the states services through their tax system.

The game belongs to the states, we sure don't want the feds telling us how to do it in Texas. Why should we be able to tell New Mexico how to run their fish and game department?

TxTechsan and DogCatcher, really good posts.

I propose that the federal lands be sold. Why should our tax paying dollars go to subsidize land that we can't hunt. The land would be better off in private hands.

This will give you an idea as to what the State of New Mexico has been and is doing with one of their most popular big game animals - elk. The current fee for bull elk in the QUALITY-HD units is $780.00 for a non-res. If you apply on line for the tag there is an on-line fee of $5.00, a $20.00 application fee for each application, plus the Habitat fee of $8.00. So by now the non-res has spent $813.00 for one bull tag.

Additionally, what the NMGFD has been doing, is increasing the number of units that require the Q/HD tag. Consequently, in many units there are no "S" (Standard) bull tags available. The Standard bull tag is $555.00, cow tags are $345.00. So when this new bill passes, the non-res gets to pay almost $900.00 to hunt, much of it on Federal land. Along with the increased prices for bull tags, the NMGFD have also done the same thing for cow elk - $900 for a cow elk is way out of line! The resident cow elk now is $61 or $91, with the new $65.00 license fee added, it's still way cheaper!

I guess the key thing to do, would be to buy a Colorado bull tag for one of the southern units and sit on the Colorado-New Mexico border, so that when one of those elk OWNED by New Mexico, crosses over the border, it now is OWNED by Colorado and you can shoot it for half the price! Or if that elk OWNED by New Mexcio, crosses into Texas, you can shoot it any time, since elk are not native big game animal in Texas, and it would only cost you between $25-$65.00 depending on what license the Texan bought!

Interesting isn't it!

Yeah, time to start looking to Colorado or even Idaho. New Mexico is expensive. Don't forget to add outfitter/guide costs on top of gas, food, lodging, and permit fees.

Go ahead and look at Colorado/Idaho/Wyoming/Montana and Nevada, Non-Resident licenses are limited and are going up in price yearly.