HOUSE MEMORIAL 94

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Nathan P. Small

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE STATE GAME COMMISSION TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF ELK HUNTING LICENSE DISTRIBUTION IN NEW MEXICO AND TO CONSIDER INCREASING THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF LICENSES ISSUED TO RESIDENTS.

     WHEREAS, United States wildlife law holds that non-migratory wildlife within a state's boundaries is to be held in public trust and managed by the state on behalf of its residents, whether such wildlife is found on public or private property, as set out in the public trust doctrine of wildlife management; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico legislature affirmed this principle by creating the state game commission and charging it with the protection of game and fish in New Mexico and for the use and development of game and fish for public recreation and food supply; and

     WHEREAS, the state game commission is also statutorily required to develop a statewide system for hunting activities to increase the participation by New Mexico residents; and

     WHEREAS, in 2011, the legislature passed legislation to ensure that residents receive at least eighty-four percent of big game licenses issued through a public draw, with the expectation of significantly increasing resident hunting participation; and

     WHEREAS, for the 2016-2017 license year, forty-two thousand six hundred seventeen elk licenses were authorized; and

     WHEREAS, for the 2016-2017 license year, twenty-one thousand one hundred fifty-eight authorized elk licenses, eight thousand two hundred forty-four inside the core elk range and twelve thousand nine hundred fourteen outside the core elk range, were reserved for private landowners for their use and sale through the department of game and fish's private land elk hunting authorization system, also known as E-PLUS, and associated landowner license programs; and

     WHEREAS, the thousands of dollars most landowners charge for hunting elk on private land is so costly that many residents cannot afford the opportunity to participate through the landowner program; and

     WHEREAS, nonresidents purchased eighty-six percent of the highly prized bull elk licenses issued through the landowner program; and

     WHEREAS, forty-two percent of the elk hunting licenses reserved for the landowner system were never purchased, thus defeating the game management goals for elk population size and makeup, increasing potential for elk damage to private property and depriving thousands of hunters of the opportunity to hunt a public trust resource; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico's percentage of licenses reserved for landowners is in stark contrast to other western states, where percentages range from zero in Arizona to thirty percent in Colorado and to other states that set a ten percent limit on nonresidents; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico residents want the state game commission to initiate a public input process to assess and address license distribution; 

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the state game commission be requested to address the issue of elk hunting license distribution in New Mexico and to consider increasing the number and percentage of licenses issued to New Mexico residents through the E-PLUS system; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the chair of the state game commission and the director of the department of game and fish.