Youth encouragement elk hunting licenses go on sale July 11

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866 Media contact, Tristanna Bickford: (505) 476-8027 tristanna.bickford@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, June 27, 2018: Youth encouragement elk hunting licenses go on sale July 11 SANTA FE – More than 1,800 youth, antlerless elk licenses will go on sale through the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish’s Online License System at 10 a.m. MDT July 11. The sale is designed to encourage youth hunting and includes almost 1,500 licenses for hunters using any legal weapon and 390 licenses for hunters using a muzzleloader or bow. Licenses will be sold online only on a first-come, first-served basis. To purchase a license, customers will need to log in to their Online License System account at www.wildlife.state.nm.us. Eligibility requirements: • For the first 14 days, the sale is open only to N.M. resident youths who have applied in the current license year for one or more draw hunts for deer, elk, antelope, bighorn sheep, oryx or ibex and were not successful for any hunt. Please note that the purchase of a leftover draw hunt for deer counts as a successful deer application. • Must have a valid Hunter Education certification. • Must be under 18 years old on the opening day of hunt. Beginning at 10 a.m. MDT, July 25, the sale will open to all eligible youths, regardless of residency, who did not draw a 2018-19 elk license, whether they applied or not. Hunters must have a current Junior Game Hunting or a Junior Game Hunting and Fishing license prior to purchasing an elk license. Customers without a Game Hunting license will be directed to purchase one before continuing to the youth encouragement sale. All purchases will be audited to verify the customer’s eligibility. Hunters planning to purchase a youth encouragement license must have completed all mandatory 2017-2018 harvest reporting requirements or their purchase will be rejected in the post-sale audit. The license fee, but not the application fee will be refunded on rejected purchases. After eligibility is verified, licenses will be awarded to hunters and will be available to print and view within a few days of purchase. Licenses can be printed from any computer by logging in to an account and selecting “My Purchases” in the main menu. Following successful purchase of the youth encouragement license, carcass tags will be mailed to the hunter. Complete information about the new tagging requirements is available on the department website and in the Hunting Rules & Information booklet. Read more about tagging here. For more information about the youth encouragement elk license sale, hunting in New Mexico, or for help logging in, please call customer service at (888) 248-6866. Youth encouragement licenses will not be sold over the phone. For the list of available hunts please see the 2018-2019 Hunting Rules and Information booklet available online at www.wildlife.state.nm.us. ###