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Locked Out? Let Us Know!

Have you been locked out of YOUR public lands this hunting season?

The New Mexico Wildlife Federation has become aware of areas – especially on state trust lands – where hunters are being blocked from the public lands they should have legitimate access to. We have also heard about hunters being confronted or harassed by permittees, hunting guides, or private land owners. Has this happened to you? We have heard reports of incidents across our state during hunting season this year!

Access to public lands through legitimate public easements is your right.

  • One of the best resources for figuring out public land is the BLM mapcheck it out to see where your public lands are located and accessible.

We want to compile the instances where hunters have been locked out of historically used access points and public lands you should be able to hunt on.

If you have been locked out or harassed please let us know by emailing us with the following information:

  • Clear picture of the blocked access site
  • As many details of the location as possible including specific game units, public access road and/or name of the road, GPS coordinates if possible
  • Date and time of incident
  • Name of party involved in incident such as a rancher permittee, private landowner if known
  • A brief description of the incident
  • What kind of public land you were on (BLM, forest land, state trust, etc)

We will do our best to compile the information and work with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to remedy these issues.

Send these instances to nmwildlife@nmwildlife.org with concise but thorough information. Thank you for doing your part to keep public lands open to all!