this is the kind of shit that pisses me off. US taxpayers buy it, hold a lottery to fund it, and low and behold the majority of the money made came from everywhere else than NM. Then the residents cry because they only drew 6 tags!! well BUY MORE TICKETS!!
then of course the rules change and instead of the Federal taxpayers who just shelled out the cash getting even chances depending on how much money they spend it goes back to a fricking welfare system. This is why the feds should have told the state to buy it themselves. This place was supposed to be different and self supporting for all federal residents to enjoy. I am sorry, but this is wrong.
First the good news: If you're a New Mexico resident and want to hunt elk on the Valles Caldera National Preserve, your odds of scoring a license next year will likely be better than ever.
Now the bad news: Plunking down more money still equates to better odds, so the license system still favors hunters with deep pockets.
The state Game Commission earlier this month held a special meeting to revamp the way hunters apply for bull-elk permits on the Caldera— an 89,000-acre Jemez Mountains gem not far from Los Alamos known as hallowed ground to many who dream of pursuing big, bugling bulls.
As a result of that meeting, a quota system that gives New Mexicans a big advantage in drawing a Caldera tag will go into effect next year. That's a welcome change, said Oscar Simpson, an elk hunter and president of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.
Simpson, whose group pushed for the changes, said hunters around the state have been complaining about the former Caldera system, in which New Mexico residents did not get any preference over out-of-staters.
The wildlife federation supports the new rules, Simpson said, though it still has some heartburn over a continuing provision that allows hunters to buy as many $25 lottery chances as they wish.
"You're promoting rich people buying a bunch of tags so they can hunt in the Valles Caldera," Simpson said.
The Caldera, which is unique from other public land in that it has been mandated to become self-sufficient, generated about $350,000 this year from the elk system.
The hunts have been the largest money maker thus far for the Caldera, which became public land just three years ago. Preserve officials believe revenues could drop next year due to the changes.
Gary Ziehe, executive director of the Valles Caldera Trust, which manages the Caldera, said last week the changes aren't what the Caldera had in mind. But he said the Caldera and the state Game and Fish Department are partners, and that entails some give and take.
"The only issue of concern to us is, this is a national preserve, and we feel strongly we ought to be able to accommodate people from everywhere across the country," Ziehe said.
He added, however, that the Caldera realizes Game and Fish is responsible for managing New Mexico's game, saying, "This is a cooperative effort."
State control
Public elk hunts on the Caldera began in 2002, two years after the federal government purchased the area. During its first two hunting seasons, the Caldera doled out all or most of its bull-elk licenses through its own drawing system.
In that system, hunters from around the nation paid a nonrefundable, $25 fee per chance, and there was no limit on the number of chances a hunter could purchase. During the 2002 season, the hunt authorizations were fully transferable— meaning someone could win a hunt, then peddle it off for thousands of dollars. That practice was stopped in the 2003 process.
State Game and Fish handles the drawing process for elk tags everywhere else in New Mexico, and it has a quota mandating that 78 percent of the licenses must go to resident hunters. That quota didn't apply in the Caldera-run drawings, but it should have, according to Attorney General Patricia Madrid.
In a formal opinion issued last week, Madrid said the previous elk-tag allocation system for the Valles Caldera didn't meet state law.
"We believe that the Legislature did not intend to allow other agencies to circumvent the law allocating 78 percent of the elk hunting licenses to New Mexico residents," she said in a statement. "The Valles Caldera is a treasure to be shared among all New Mexicans."
Last year, under the old system, Game and Fish held a drawing for eight of the Caldera's bull tags, and the Caldera itself held a drawing for 48 bull tags. Of the latter group, only 13 hunters who drew licenses were from New Mexico.
Texas hunters scored seven of the tags, while other winners hailed from as far away as Indiana, Kentucky and Hawaii.
No more. Game and Fish spokesman Marty Frentzel said the Game Commission during a Nov. 13 meeting voted to bring the entire Caldera elk-drawing process under the department's purview and in line with state law.
Frentzel said next year hunters will still have to purchase their $25 chances from the Caldera, and there will again not be any limit to the number of chances each hunter can buy. But now, hunters must submit these "access-agreement coupons" along with a Valles Caldera Trust hunt application to Game and Fish, instead of to the Caldera's management. Game and Fish will conduct the drawing using the 78 percent quota system.
That means more New Mexicans will walk away with Caldera licenses. But the New Mexico hunter who drops $100 for four chances will get better odds than the New Mexico hunter who buys only one chance.
The new system also eliminates a $150 user fee previously charged by the Caldera to hunters who applied through Game and Fish. Now, the $25 access coupon is the only fee that will be charged by the Caldera.
Hunters also can apply for other New Mexico elk hunts in addition to the Caldera hunt, Frentzel said.
The drawing for the Caldera licenses will take place before the regular elk-license drawing process. Hunters lucky enough to obtain a Caldera tag will be deleted from the other drawing and get a refund for their non-Caldera application, while the losers will get a chance to draw a hunt elsewhere.
