Recreational Opportunities

May, 2019

  • 23 May

    Looking for a spring road trip?

    New Mexico offers a variety of opportunities to watch wildlife, learn more about our fish hatcheries and visit unique sites that can only be found in our state. Here are four places definitely worth the drive: River Ranch WMA Lisboa Springs Fish Hatchery Bernardo WMA Clayton Lake State Park Be …

January, 2019

  • 7 January

    Recruiting New Hunters

    I sat on the edge of a cornfield with my son and his friend. White clouds exploded from our mouths with each breath. It was early November, and this sandhill crane hunt would be my son’s first hunt. He had drawn a coveted youth permit to hunt cranes on the …

  • 7 January

    Blast from the Past

    Youth Hunter Education Challenge (YHEC) Imagine a world where everyone waves as they drive past each other, no music blaring, youth acknowledge others with a yes ma’am or no ma’am, people of all ages shake your hand and look you in the eye, kids cheer each other on as the …

  • 7 January

    Winter bird feeding tips

    Ditch screen time for your window Bird alert! This is a note of fair warning before proceeding. The activities encouraged in this article could lead to an obsession with birds, feeding birds and identifying birds. Major side effects could result in a severe reduction in time spent staring at screens! …

  • 7 January

    Outwitting the fish

    Outwitting New Mexico’s official state fish From nearly anywhere in my Santa Fe County home, I have the most fortunate view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It’s where the Rockies start in New Mexico. As I write this, day melds into night, that period when the Muses visit painters …

  • 7 January

    Bosque del Apache

    Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is undoubtedly one of the best places in New Mexico and the southwestern United States to photograph large concentrations of waterfowl and other wildlife exhibiting natural behavior. Each fall and winter tens of thousands of ducks, cranes and …

  • 7 January

    Pass It On

    Age of hunters and anglers indicates something is missing People taking the time to read a magazine published by a state wildlife agency are likely interested in the outdoors. Among those people are hunters, anglers and trappers. Perhaps some belong to a sportsmen or conservationist group that keeps a wary …

  • 7 January

    Sunrise 14,089

    It is said that Homo sapiens will witness approximately 25,000 sunrises in a lifetime. Of course, people don’t wake for all of them, but the sun still rises and time ticks along to an eventual end. But some sunrises are special. Yes, every day, the sun rises at a mathematically …

  • 7 January

    Aiming for the 10 ring

    New Mexico’s National Archery in Schools Program A record number of young archers from across New Mexico competed in the 2018 National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) New Mexico State Tournament. 906 archers competed surpassing last year’s record attendance number of 840. For more information about the National Archery in …

April, 2017

  • 13 April

    Restoration of Gila trout

    Laurence D'Alessandro, coldwater fisheries biologist, displays a Gila trout during a recent survey conducted at Willow Creek in the Gila National Forest. Cover: NMDGF photo by Jill Wick, New Mexico Wildlife magazine Spring 2017 Vol60, Num1, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

    Restoration of Gila trout opens door for anglers It’s been five years since two massive wildfires roared through the Gila Wilderness and surrounding national forest, destroying years of painstaking native trout restoration work. “I was interviewing for this job while everything was burning up,” said Jill Wick, Gila trout biologist …