NMDGF Education News
The most recent news in education from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is found here. Department-wide news can be found under Home → NMDGF News.
Seven Springs Kids’ Pond closed due to McKinney Fire
The kids' pond at Seven Springs Hatchery, located four miles north of Fenton Lake State Park in Sandoval County, is closed because of firefighting efforts surrounding the McKinney Fire. The pond and surrounding roads are closed to allow for dipping of water and access for fire crews. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish biologists and hatchery staff are putting together a plan to prioritize the relocation of fish inventories currently at the hatchery should that become necessary.
White-nose syndrome detected in New Mexico
SANTA FE – For the first time, white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease of hibernating bats, has been confirmed in New Mexico. Samples from two live bats and two deceased bats were collected in late April from BLM-managed caves in Lincoln and De Baca counties. Scientific Background: The two dead bats were confirmed with WNS, one a fringed myotis in Lincoln County, the other a cave myotis in De Baca County. Additionally, wing biopsies from two live cave myotis at the same Lincoln County site revealed microscopic lesions consistent with WNS. WNS is caused by an invasive fungal pathogen named Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Although Pd was previously detected in New Mexico in 2021, evidence of the disease had not been confirmed in the state until now. WNS is a fungal disease that has killed millions of bats in North America since 2006. A powdery, white fungus grows on the skin of hibernating bats, often on [...]
Video Series Premiere – Drawing Your Way to Success!
Video Series Premiere - Drawing Your Way to Success! Join New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Communications Director Darren Vaughan and Licensing Operations Manager Chad Nelson as they discuss the ins and outs of the 2023-2024 Big Game Draw in the first video of the department’s “Drawing Your Way to Success” series. The video will premiere at 5 p.m. MST Friday, Jan. 20 on YouTube at https://youtu.be/IYFnzBK28oU. The video will be available from this date forward for you to watch at your convenience. We will be premiering additional videos to help you throughout the draw season. The deadline for Draw 1 (bear and turkey) is Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. MST, and the deadline for Draw 2 (Barbary sheep, bighorn sheep, deer, elk, ibex, javelina, pronghorn, oryx, and private-land only deer licenses in Units 2A, 2B, 2C, 4 and 5A) is March 22 at 5 p.m. MST. Good luck! [...]
50th anniversary of Hunter Training Act
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: 888-248-6866 Media contact, Darren Vaughan: 505-476-8027 darren.vaughan@dgf.nm.gov FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DEC. 29, 2022: 50th anniversary of Hunter Training Act SANTA FE – The state's first mandatory hunter education law — the Hunter Training Act — turned 50 this year. The act has served a major role in ensuring the safety of hunters and hunting activities since its inception. The New Mexico State Legislature passed the Hunter Training Act in 1972. This act allowed the State Game Commission to adopt regulations requiring all hunters born after Jan. 1, 1958 to complete a hunter education course and possess a certificate in order to hunt with or shoot a firearm. The law originally required hunter education in order to shoot a firearm under any circumstance, even in a supervised program or on a certified range. The law was amended in 1976 to limit [...]