NM lawmakers are considering reforming the Game Commission. What does that mean?

By Hannah Grover

Fees for some of the hunting and fishing licenses in New Mexico could increase should Senate Bill 5 become law. Proponents say those increases will allow wildlife officials to better manage the biodiversity in the state.

SB 5 received bipartisan support in the state Senate over the weekend and passed with a 28-12 vote. Despite those fee increases, the bill has the support of various hunting groups including the Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and the New Mexico Houndsmen Association.

These groups say reforms are needed at the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to ensure there are healthy ecosystems and wildlife for future generations.

These fee increases would be the first since 2006 and could raise $10 million in funding. The sale of hunting and fishing licenses is the primary source of revenue for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

Under SB 5, the freshwater fishing license fee would increase from $25 to $31 and the deer hunting license fee would increase from $35 to $50.

Not all license fees would be increased under SB 5, such as resident junior combined fishing and game hunting licenses.

SB 5 would also give people who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program discounts on hunting and fishing licenses. 

Bill sponsor Sen. Crystal Diamond Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, said her family relies on guided hunting to support its cattle ranching operation. Brantley described SB 5 as a compromise.

“If I believed that any part of this bill would negatively impact my children’s ability to live or make a living on that ranch, or that of my neighbors, my constituents or New Mexican landowners or hunters, I would not support this bill,” Brantley said.

She said she did not support an earlier version of the legislation, but supports the version that passed the Senate.

“This bill came together as a result of months of stakeholder agreements and meetings,” she said. “It is a compromise in which we have addressed concerns from all parties.”

Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, are also sponsors of SB 5.

SB 5 does more than just raise hunting license fees. It also includes reorganizing the Game Commission, including giving the Legislature the ability to appoint some of the members. The legislation would also prevent commissioners from being removed by a governor without cause and the commissioners would serve six-year terms.

SB 5 would also change the name of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to the Department of Wildlife. Brantley said this would be a gradual change and logos would be changed out as equipment, such as vehicles, need to be replaced.

This rebranding comes along with an expanded focus on wildlife conservation beyond just game species such as deer and elk.

Wildlife advocacy groups praised the Senate passage of the legislation, which now heads to the state House of Representatives.

“In New Mexico, thriving wildlife populations safeguard the air, land, and water we all need, and help maintain our cultural traditions and the outdoor recreation economy in both rural and urban communities,” Judy Calman, the New Mexico director of policy for Audubon Southwest, said in a press release. “As one of the most biodiverse states in the nation, New Mexico deserves a 21st century wildlife management system with a better functioning and science-based Game Commission, and a Department that has the resources, tools and authority to manage all of our wildlife species.”

An effort to reform the Game Commission passed both the House and Senate last year, but was vetoed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.