Vol 59 #3 – Fall / Winter 2016

Putting food on the table only part of the fun The hours passed for three young hunters who lay stealthily in tall alfalfa, waiting for the moment when time would stand still, the moment when their prey would come within range to strike. Nov. 7, 2015, they were in an …

Wildlife management can be challenging, especially when research data has yet to be collected and a theory needs scientific support. While wildlife surveys can provide New Mexico Department of Game and Fish biologists with insight to population trends, they don’t provide answers when a decline is documented. So, when biologists …

As dawn broke over Chivato Mesa, a group of New Mexico Department of Game and Fish biologists, conservation officers and volunteers fanned out in search of calving elk. They climbed hilltops and used binoculars and spotting scopes to scan the vast meadows and clusters of scrub oak that dot the …

When habitat conditions are strong, wildlife tend to flourish and the overriding factor is precipitation. Adequate rainfall and snow in 2014-15 produced an abundance of available forage, resulting in healthy elk herds throughout most of New Mexico. “We had a prolific monsoon season in 2015, which created an abundance of …

Parents and youths are having fun learning at the new New Mexico Department of Game and Fish hunter education camps. These camps deviate from the more traditional classroom-heavy learning experience. Instead, the focus is more interactive for eligible youths 11 years of age and older. Any hunter in New Mexico …

Wildlife agencies across the nation have many success stories to share when it comes to restoring wildlife populations. Sometimes the wildlife get much of the credit. That’s been the case in the Rio Grande Gorge, where a few dozen Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep released in 2006-2007 have multiplied to a …

Wildlife has no better ally than a conservation officer. The name alone, “conservation,” suggests their duties involve the protection of wildlife for future generations. Whether they are combating poaching, conducting population surveys, assisting in habitat projects, participating in relocation efforts or con-ducting classroom education, it all points to protecting and …

Ask a hunter about the trophy mounted on the wall, sitting on a table or neatly placed in a cabinet, and a story will unfold — of outdoor experiences, an important hunt and deeply held values. The term “trophy” generally refers to a large game animal that has been mounted, …

Mid-continent populations of light geese are currently at levels never before recorded. They have surpassed critical mass and efforts to stem their growth over the last 20 years has been ineffective. “It’s a difficult concept to explain,” said Casey Cardinal, turkey and upland game biologist with the New Mexico Department …

Laws and additional control measures appear to have been effective in putting feral hog concerns to rest in New Mexico. At least for the moment. “I think we’ll always have to stay on top of it,” said Ryan McBee, regional wildlife biologist in Roswell. “They are a prolific-breeding invasive species. …