NM Game and Fish survey on State lands hunting.

The Department of Game and Fish is seeking your input on the use and value of State Trust Lands to you as a New Mexico Sportsperson. As you may be aware, the State Land Office has proposed increasing the current $200,000 annual lease fee to $1,000,000 for next year (5-fold increase) to maintain access to State Trust Lands for hunters, trappers, and anglers. The Department would like to better understand the importance and value of access to these lands for our customers. By completing the survey, you will assist the Department in the valuation process and to better understand your opinions on this proposal. Please click on the following link to take the survey: https://nmdeptgameandfish.snapsurvey.net/s.asp?k=144414566152&i=49EDED41051D24 Your opinion is important to us and is vital in managing your wildlife resources. SSKH:144414566152 Information you may need to know. Fish for access to state land By Andy Lyman | August 26, 2015 Print Email A fee paid to the New Mexico Land Office by the Game and Fish Department that allows hunters to access public land may increase by $800,000. State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn has contended that the previous amount of $200,000 was too low. A press release from Dunn’s office stated that Dunn and Director of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Alexa Sandoval agreed on a $1 million easement fee. The agreement still needs to be approved by the Department of Game and Fish Commission. In a written statement, Dunn said the increased fee will help pay for other programs around the state. “A fee increase of $800,000 could help fund 16 new teaching positions or help the development of an early childhood program,” Dunn said. Earlier this month Dunn said he thought the easement negotiations were to blame for the release of text messages that led to the resignation of Jim Lane, a former assistant land commissioner and previously the director of the Game and Fish Department. Lane resigned from the Game and Fish Department abruptly without explanation in 2013. The Albuquerque Journal released text messages that showed apparent sexual harassment ahead of his resignation.The release of the text messages caused Lane to resign from the State Land Commissioner’s office In brief: Game Commission, Land Office at odds over access fee Hunters Helping the Hungry program launches Valles Caldera elk, turkey hunts revised Access to State Lands in question The State Game Commission made it clear this week that it’s willing to play hardball with the State Land Office over sportsmen’s traditional access to millions of acres of State Trust Land – which could mean no hunting, fishing or trapping on those lands for a year or more. But State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn was even more entrenched than the Commission. Seated across from them Tuesday in Albuquerque, he insisted on charging at least $1 million a year for access that in the past has cost just $200,000 – a whopping five-fold increase that is essentially a special tax on New Mexico sportsmen and women. And even that rate could be for the same treatment hunters have received for years – virtually no camping, dusk-to-dawn closures, limited scouting, payment for inaccessible or unhuntable tracts, and too many illegally locked gates. Negotiations to date yield nothing Department of Game and Fish staff said they had made repeated offers to Dunn’s office and been rejected every time, including an offer of $600,000 for one year and $1.95 million for three years. Each time, Dunn counter-offered $1 million annually, although even that is an improvement. He earlier asked for $2 million. Dunn justified his demands by noting that the extra revenue would benefit schools and hospitals throughout New Mexico. “I do not work to please hunters, anglers, ranchers, oil and gas producers, miners, the Game Department” or anyone else, he said. He did not mention that the access payment from Game and Fish is a drop in the bucket for his office, which takes in as much as $650 million a year. The Land Commissioner is elected every four years and is accountable to no one – not the governor, the Legislature or any sort of board of directors. New Mexico Wildlife Federation has told both the Game Department and Dunn that the current access lease is probably too low, but that any higher fee should also provide hunters with more benefits, such as camping, scouting and a promise to hold grazing lessees accountable for keeping their lands marked and open. Commissioner Ralph Ramos went a step further on Tuesday, saying he wants the Land Office to open even its landlocked lands, and threatened to shut down hunting on State Trust Lands unless access improves. Commissioners Elizabeth Ryan and Robert Espinosa supported the idea of a three-year contract. Dunn said he could take such a deal, but would want $2 million a year by the third year. Commissioner Bill Montoya said the Land Office should take into account the value of Game and Fish law enforcement and other services. Dunn replied that, “We have the land your wildlife is on, so it’s a two-way street.” Asked about providing access to landlocked state land, Dunn told Commissioners they would have to negotiate directly with the surrounding landowners. And when Ramos suggested that perhaps nobody gets to hunt on State Trust Land, Dunn replied, “If that’s what you think you should do, that’s up to the Commission.” Ryan summed up the situation, telling Dunn that the Commission has raised a number of concerns “but you have shut every one of them down. It’s not clear whether you’re willing to negotiate at all.” Dunn said he hadn’t received a concrete proposal from Game and Fish regarding access, and then stood up and left the meeting without even listening to public comment. Sportsmen 'singled out' Garrett VeneKlasen, executive director of NMWF, told Commissioners that it appears New Mexico sportsmen and women are being singled out, because neither the oil and gas industry nor ranchers have seen their state land leases increase five-fold. Dunn plans to increase State Lands grazing fees to $4.80/AUM (from $3.90), but if he were to apply the same increase as he’s proposing for the NMDGF lease, grazing lessees would have to pay $19.95/AUM. Oil and gas lease rates remain unchanged, even though they account for 97 percent of the Land Office’s revenue. State oil and gas royalty rates in Texas are 25 percent; in New Mexico just 18.5 percent. Upping oil and gas rates even 1 percent on future leases would be a true boon for the Land Office’s beneficiaries. Kerrie Romero of the New Mexico Council of Outfitters and Guides also have some concerns about the State Land Office. Dunn has eliminated the permit system for guided hunts on State Trust Land, which she said would “add to the large and growing rogue (outfitter) industry.” Time is running out to cut a deal with the State Land Office, Game and Fish Director Alexa Sandoval said. She would like a lease agreement for the 2016-17 season in place by Nov. 1, so details can be included in the big game proclamation. The Commission’s next scheduled meeting is Nov. 19 in Roswell.