New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVI, Issue 18 / September 23, 2025

STATE GAME COMMISSION MEETING AND RULE MAKING NOTICE

The New Mexico State Game Commission (“Commission”) will be hosting a virtual and in-person meeting and rule hearing on Friday November 7^th beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Fuller Lodge, 2132 Central Ave., Los Alamos, NM 87544. Please check the Department’s website at: www.wildlife.dgf.nm.gov for any changes to the venue. The purpose of this meeting is to hear and consider action as appropriate on the presentation of proposed changes to the Upland Game rule.

Synopsis:

The proposal is to amend the Upland Game rule, 19.31.5 NMAC, which will become effective April 1, 2026. The current Upland Game rule will expire on March 31, 2026. The proposed new rule includes:

1) Adjust hunt dates based on calendar dates;

2) Divide Dusky Grouse into a North and South Zone using I-40 as the dividing line;

3) Set Bag Limits for Dusky Grouse Zones:

a. North Zone- 3 Birds/Day; 6 in possession;

b. South Zone- 1 Bird/Day; 2 in possession;

4) Add an additional special youth pheasant draw hunt on Jackson Lake WMA;

5) Open Bluebird and Pine River WMAs for upland hunting during squirrel and dusky grouse season;

6) Open Double E, LBar, Navajo and River Ranch WMAs for upland hunting during quail season.

A full text of changes for both rules will be available on the Department’s website at: www.wildlife.dgf.nm.gov.

Interested persons may submit comments on the proposed changes to the Upland Game rule DGF-Gamebird@dgf.nm.gov; individuals may also submit written comments to the physical address below. Comments are due by 8:00 a.m. on November 5, 2025. The final proposed rules will be voted on by the Commission during a public meeting on November 7, 2025. Interested persons may also provide data, views or arguments, orally or in writing, at the public rule hearing to be held on November 7, 2025.

Full copies of text of the proposed new rules, technical information related to proposed rule changes, and the agenda can be obtained from the Office of the Director, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, 1 Wildlife Way, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507, or from the Department’s website at https://wildlife.dgf.nm.gov/commission/proposals-under-consideration/. This agenda is subject to change up to 72 hours prior to the meeting. Please contact the Director’s Office at (505) 476-8000, or the Department’s website at www.wildlife.dgf.nm.gov for updated information.

If you are an individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing or meeting, please contact the Department at (505) 476-8000 at least one week prior to the meeting or as soon as possible. Public documents, including the agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible formats. Please contact the Department at 505-476-8000 if a summary or other type of accessible format is needed.

Legal authority for this rulemaking can be found in the General Powers and Duties of the State Game Commission 17-1-14, et seq. NMSA 1978; Commission’s Power to establish rules and regulations 17-1-26, et seq. NMSA 1978.