By BEN NEARY
NMWF Conservation Director
The New Mexico State Land Office took steps recently to open locked gates that had blocked sportsmen from reaching prime hunting areas in response to complaints from the New Mexico Wildlife Federation and others.
Ray Trejo, southern New Mexico outreach coordinator for the NMWF, contacted the State Land Office as well as officers with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish after hearing from sportsmen that ranchers had installed locked gates on state trust lands.
One of the gates was on a parcel of state trust land in the northeastern portion of Luna County, in Game Management Unit 23. The area is north of Grandmother Mountain, off of County Road D002. It was locked before the opening of antelope season in August.
The other locked gate was in Sierra County, off Hwy 27, which runs between Lake Valley and Hillsboro. This road was fenced in late August, and the closure was discovered by bowhunters who were trying to scout the area.
Trejo said that when local hunters contacted him about the closures, he asked them to notify the local offices of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish as well as the State Land Office. Trejo said he had several conversations with NMDGF personnel and also contacted the State Land Office.
It took about 60 days to get the gates opened and the roads put back in service, Trejo said. He expressed thanks to Howard Gross of the SLO for working with ranchers to solve the issues.
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish pays the SLO $1 million a year to lease the hunting and fishing rights to state lands. Under the state Constitution, the SLO is bound to use revenues from state lands to fund public education and other public institutions.
Trejo said the roads lead to some good public land hunting opportunities. “There is an abundant amount of opportunity to hunt deer, javelina, antelope, rabbits, dove, ducks as well as trapping opportunity for predators,” he said. “And for that reason it’s important to keep public land in public hands.
Hunters and anglers who find locked gates on public land should not take the law into their own hands, Trejo said. “They should contact whatever agency the violation is committed on,” he said. “That includes locked gates, signage that is in the wrong place as well as any harassment of hunters.”
The New Mexico State Land Office has established a procedure for people to follow if they believe they’ve been improperly blocked from entering state trust lands or have any other conflicts. Review the complaint form HERE.