Survival vs support
New Mexico
Be interested in your thoughts. NMGF has salaries, vehicles, overhead etc. At some point a business can cross over to value choices that "enhance" their group vs "enhance" the product or service they provide. I admit it is an ugly reality in some sectors on rare occasion. I noticed 300 more cow elk tags. I also notice the constant large amount of deer/elk tags that are given to struggling or units without large problems. I cannot help think that regardless of what is said, it is about paying bills and maybe raises etc for NMGF. IMO, we need a massive cut in deer tags and approx 15% cut in LO tags and public in some units. We only have one section for deer and one section for Elk that is not struggling for quality hunts. That is Unit 2 for deer and the gila for elk. Even those have seen reductions in quality. I think raising tag costs for all is a better way to subsidize NMGF than exhausting tags in so many units. I truly believe if there is a connection between the cost of NMGF and the slow demise of great elk/deer habitat.....I am aware of cougars, droughts etc but does anyone know the fiscal condition of NMGF?
Your thread title probably will not generate much interest. Heck I only clicked on it because I was curious what it was referring to - thought it related to a survival incident in the woods or something.
Bottom line is the Game Commission controls tag numbers, etc. The GC is not made up of biologists, but rather by representatives with numerous special interests. They may sometimes consider NMGF recommendations, but all too often the GC makes its own decisions based on factors totally unrelated to biology.
NMGF always makes more than its operating budget, and the overage goes to the General Fund, so NMGF isn't the entity pushing for more $.
+1 Smarba
The NMDGF operates with a surplus of revenues, but the NM State Legislature prefers to allocate that surplus to the general fund instead of hiring more conservation officers, or otherwise allocating the dollars NMDGF generates in a way that would keep those hunter-generated funds inside the very department that generated those funds.
Thank you for the information. So is there imputus on NMGF to keep giving out to many tags so they can help support the general fund?
