Take Back Your Elk
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Newly Appointed Game Commissioner Calls for Listening Session on EPLUS

3/8/2024

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By Ben Neary <br>
NMWF Conservation Director<br>

Speaking at her first commission meeting in Albuquerque on Friday, Pack took the unusual step of saying she wants the game commission to take public comment on EPLUS (Elk Private Lands Use System) – the permanent rule under which the game commission gives a huge share of public elk permits to private landowners every year.

Other commissioners have steadfastly refused to entertain any discussion about EPLUS in recent years despite demands from the NMWF and other conservation groups.

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OPINION: It's time to take back our elk and ensure fair hunting opportunities

2/25/2024

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Santa Fe New Mexican <br>
by Jessie Deubel
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In a state known for its rugged landscapes and abundant wildlife, New Mexico’s elk management system stands out for all the wrong reasons.

The recent release of the second Take Back Your Elk report sheds light on the persistent issues plaguing the system and underscores the urgent need for reform.

One glaring problem highlighted by the report is the disproportionate allocation of elk licenses, favoring those with deep pockets over ordinary residents. New Mexico’s Elk Private Land Use System (EPLUS) allocates a significant portion of licenses directly to landowners, with a staggering 75% of these licenses ending up in the hands of nonresident hunters. This not only raises concerns about fairness but also undermines the principle of equal access to our state’s natural resources.

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JESSE DEUBEL ON THE RICHARD EEDS SHOW

2/22/2024

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Jesse Deubel, Executive Director @ the New Mexico Wildlife Federation discussing the longstanding problems with our elk tags system. The Game Commission and the EPLUS system and other issues have New Mexicans not getting anywhere near the amount of tags that they should.
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The Privatization of Elk Hunting Part 2 - NW Wildlife Federation

11/8/2022

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<b>The Elkshape Podcast </b>
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Episode with Jesse Deubel, the executive director for New Mexico Wildlife Federation and Ray Trejo. Both guests are passionate elk hunters who reside in New Mexico, we are extending the conversation of how New Mexico continues to support the privatization of elk hunting. If you are a regular blue-collar elk hunter, resident or non-resident, this is an important podcast to educate yourself on how the North American Model of Conservation is being ignored by the state of New Mexico.

Demand that the NM Attorney General investigate the legality of the EPLUS system
Submit Your Concern HERE

For more background and to research the extent of NMWF's calls to action through the administrative process, listeners can read more about the issue at the following link. The New Mexico Wildlife Federation has spent decades exhausting any and all administrative remedies.
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State needs to reform elk hunting

10/22/2022

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<b>By Jesse Deubel</b>
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The New Mexico Wildlife Federation encourages all New Mexicans to contact their local state senator and state representative and express support for reforming elk hunting in our state. Learn more about the issue at takebackyourelk.com.
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Has New Mexico ‘Privatized’ Its Elk Herd?

10/17/2022

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<b>By Ryan Callaghan, The Meat Eater </b>
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The New Mexico Wildlife Federation and the New Mexico Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) published a bombshell report last week slamming the state’s Department of Game and Fish for “privatizing elk hunting opportunities.” The conservation and hunting groups claim that the state is favoring landowners, outfitters, and non-resident hunters in how it hands out licenses, and resident public land hunters are getting left out to dry.

The report outlines license allocation data obtained from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish through a public records request. According to the report, the Department stonewalled the request until the state’s Attorney General ordered the records to be made public. The Department claims the delay was due to a conflict in state law between the Inspection of State Records Act and the Public Records Act.

Whatever the reason for the delay, both sides agree on the top-line number: over 35% of the state’s elk licenses end up in the hands of non-resident hunters.
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NM's flawed EPLUS system privatizes elk hunting

10/15/2022

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<b>By Jesse Deubel, Albuquerque Journal</b>
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Problems with New Mexico’s elk management system go far beyond the information presented in Alaina Mencinger’s Sept. 25 report, “Frustrated landowners sue state over damage caused by elk.”
Mencinger reported on ranchers suing over New Mexico’s so-called EPLUS system — Elk Private Land Use System. I agree with the ranchers quoted that New Mexico’s system of elk management is broken, but for different reasons.

New Mexico’s wildlife belongs to all the people of the state – not just to landowners and not just to the wealthy. Yet EPLUS privatizes our elk and even privatizes thousands of public land hunts. No other state allows this.
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Report Finds That New Mexico’s Elk Licensing System Favors Wealthy Landowners and Out-of-Staters Over Residents

10/6/2022

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<b>By Dac Collins, Outdoor Life</b>
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The report, titled Take Back Your Elk, was prepared by the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and the New Mexico Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. Both groups have long argued that the state’s license allocation system needs to be reformed, but they haven’t had the numbers to back it up. So, last year, the NMWF and NMCBHA filed a request with the state fish and game agency to provide detailed records showing how the state’s elk tags are allocated.

The report found that New Mexico’s current elk license allocation system favors wealthy landowners and out-of-staters.

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Hunters criticize New Mexico’s elk tag draw system

10/5/2022

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<b>By Stephanie Chavez, KRQE NEWS</b>
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The Game and Fish Department is drawing criticism from local hunters over the way they hand out elk tags. They think New Mexicans should get preference over out-of-state hunters, but there are New Mexicans who benefit from the current system...

The EPLUS system is drawing criticism from local hunters and the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, saying it’s unfair to locals. “We’re getting priced out,” said Jesse Deubel, the Executive Director of the NM Wildlife Federation. “It’s a result of the fact that these tags are being sold to the highest bidder,” he explained.

According to a report released by the NM Wildlife Federation, more than 75% of all licenses issued through the EPLUS system, are going to non-residents. “Just last year, that generated more than $83-million worth of sales to private individuals that are selling a public resource,” Deubel said.

Now, the Wildlife Federation is asking the State Gaming Commission to review their policies and make appropriate changes, giving locals a better opportunity to draw. However, Game and Fish said even with the EPLUS program, New Mexicans are still getting more tags than out of staters and at this moment they have no plans to change their practices.

WATCH FULL FEATURE HERE
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Report: Wealthy, out-of-state hunters favored in elk license system

10/4/2022

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<b>By Robert Knott, Santa Fe New Mexican</b>
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A new report says the state’s current system of granting elk hunting licenses favors the wealthy and out-of-state residents over New Mexicans.

“New Mexico’s unfair system of allocating elk licenses is destroying our state’s cherished hunting traditions,” says the report by the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and the New Mexico Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
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TAKE BACK YOUR ELK
In 2022, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation (NMWF) and New Mexico Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) released a groundbreaking report titled “Take Back Your Elk.” Looking at data from the 2020-21 elk season, the report documented for the first time exactly how New Mexico’s system of allocating elk licenses benefits wealthy nonresidents and private interests at the expense of state residents.

Now the NMWF, NMBHA, HECHO and HOC have obtained information about the allocation of elk licenses in the 2022-23 elk season. The new results showed essentially no change since the first report on how the state allocates elk licenses.


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