February, 2020

• 14 February

  Department monitors Gila elk calf population

  

  On an early June morning in the Gila National Forest, Department of Game and Fish conservation officers and biologists stop their pickup trucks along a winding dirt road. It’s a quiet, sunny morning; the only faint sound is the whirling of a distant, lone helicopter scanning the landscape below for …

January, 2020

• 28 January

  Department, UNM archeology student use 3D imagery to study and preserve artifacts

  

  As the manager of more than 40 wildlife management areas and other properties around New Mexico, the Department of Game and Fish is not just responsible for protecting fish and wildlife; it’s also responsible for protecting important cultural sites. While she was a graduate student at the University of New …

December, 2019

• 23 December

  Fisheries Biologists Tap into DNA Detection Technology

  

  Whitewater Creek contains more than 16 million gallons of water running through 23 miles of stream. This remote creek in the Gila wilderness in southwestern New Mexico is one of a handful of southwestern creeks home to native Gila trout, a rare species once federally listed as endangered. Detecting a …

November, 2019

• 26 November

  Biologists begin tracking a pronghorn herd at high elevations

  

  In New Mexico, herds of pronghorn are typically found roaming the high plains throughout the eastern part of the state. This expanse of land varies in elevation between 4,000 and 7,000 feet. A particular herd of a few hundred, however, spends the warmer months at nearly 11,000 feet, east of …

October, 2019

• 28 October

  Grilled rainbow trout with melted herb butter

  

  Rainbow trout can be caught year-round throughout the state. Our trout came from Cowles Pond in the Pecos Canyon. Rainbows can be served a variety of ways. We opted to simply grill it outside on our propane grill. Heat grill to medium-high. Place one side flat on the grill for …

June, 2019

• 24 June

  Q&A: Meet the manager of Lisboa Springs Hatchery

  

  Q&A: Meet Francina Martinez-Valencia, Lisboa Springs Hatchery Manager Francina Martinez-Valencia, Lisboa Springs Hatchery Manager, works as the first-ever woman hatchery manager for the state. A Taos native, she started out as a fish culturist back in November 2007. She has been with the department for 11 years. In an interview …
• 13 June

  Black-footed ferrets reintroduced

  

  Hiding inside small pet carriers in the back of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service truck, eight very rare animals that once thrived in New Mexico waited to go home. It was a sunny, late September afternoon when wildlife biologists, conservationists, ranchers and local residents gathered on the side of …
• 13 June

  Blind hunter sets no limits for himself

  

  With the help of good friends and adaptive equipment, Mike Sanders goes after big game When Mike Sanders lost his eyesight in an industrial accident at an oil refinery 15 years ago, he thought he would never hunt again. Today, he will hunt anything he can get a tag for …
• 13 June

  Out of Range

  

  Moose from southern Colorado wander into New Mexico Moose have called the Rocky Mountains home for millennia but have never been found as far south as New Mexico, until recently. Since the 1990s, moose have occasionally been spotted in northern New Mexico around the Taos, Chama and Tierra Amarilla areas. …

May, 2019

• 23 May

  Fisheries team kicks off the spring with annual walleye spawn

  

  It’s walleye spawning season! And that doesn’t only mean this is the best time of year to cast your line for this special fish—it also means department fisheries staffers have wrapped up our yearly walleye spawn. Learn more about this interesting fish: http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/fishing/game-fish/warm-water/