2020 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 17 - Game and Fish and Outdoor Recreation
Article 2 - Hunting and Fishing Regulations
Part 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 17-2-1 - Commission powers.
The state game commission, in addition to the powers now vested in it and not as a limitation of those powers, is expressly authorized and empowered by regulation adopted and promulgated in the manner provided in Chapter 17 NMSA 1978 to:
A. define game birds, game animals and game fish;
B. establish open and closed seasons for the killing or taking of all kinds of game animals, game birds and game fish and to change such open seasons from year to year and to fix different seasons for different parts of the state;
C. establish bag limits covering all kinds of game animals, game birds and game fish and the numbers thereof which may be killed or taken by any one person during any one day or during any one open season;
D. authorize or prohibit the killing or taking of any game animals, game birds or game fish of any kind or sex;
E. prescribe the manner, methods and devices that may be used in hunting, taking or killing game animals, game birds and game fish;
F. prescribe rules to prohibit any vehicle or vehicles used in transporting persons engaged in hunting, taking or killing game animals, game birds and game fish from leaving established roadways;
G. prescribe rules that embody the principles of fair chase, which rules may include prohibitions on the use of certain technologies for hunting or fishing and specific wildlife location data that is collected by the department of game and fish or its contractors; and
H. appoint one or more advisory committees to furnish advice, evaluations and recommendations for wildlife management projects utilizing revenue derived from the sale of public land management stamps. The advisory committees shall be created pursuant to the procedures of Section 9-1-9 NMSA 1978, provided that the restrictions on the life of advisory committees contained in Subsection F of that section shall not apply.
History: Laws 1931, ch. 117, § 3; 1941 Comp., § 43-201; 1953 Comp., § 53-2-1; Laws 1983, ch. 224, § 1; 2005, ch. 332, § 1; 2019, ch. 99, § 1.
ANNOTATIONSCross references. — For establishing open season for fur-bearing animals, see 17-5-3 NMSA 1978.
The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, authorized the state game commission to prescribe rules that embody the principles of fair chase; and added a new Subsection G and redesignated former Subsection G as Subsection H.
The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, adds Subsection G to provide that the commission is authorized to appoint advisory committees for wildlife management projects using revenue derived from the sale of public land management stamps, that the advisory committees shall be created pursuant to Section 9-1-9 NMSA 1978, and that the restrictions on the life of committees in Section 9-1-9F NMSA 1978 shall not be applicable.
Indian reservations. — Where an Indian tribe working with the federal government exercises its authority to develop and manage the reservation's resources for the benefit of its members and the exercise of concurrent jurisdiction by the state would nullify the tribe's authority to regulate the use of its resources by tribal members and non-members, and would interfere with the comprehensive tribal regulatory scheme and threaten congress' commitment to tribal self-sufficiency and economic development, and in the absence of state interests which would justify assertion of concurrent authority, the application of the state's hunting and fishing laws to the reservation are preempted. Mescalero Apache Tribe v. State of New Mexico, 677 Fed.2d 55 (10th Cir. 1982), aff'd, 462 U.S. 324, 103 S.Ct. 2378, 76 L. Ed. 2d 611 (1983).
Return of game or proceeds after wrongful confiscation. — Where the department of game and fish confiscated an elk from a person charged with a hunting misdemeanor, and the magistrate court dismissed the case because the game officer failed to identify the defendant at the hearing as the person charged, the department was not required to return the elk, or the proceeds from the sale of the elk, to that person. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 88-43.
Commission's authority to fix open season on game animals is constitutional. — Authority given to the state game commission to promulgate rules and regulations is not an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power; the rule fixing an open season on hunting bear is validated by the statute defining bears as game animals. State ex rel. Sofeico v. Heffernan, 1936-NMSC-069, 41 N.M. 219, 67 P.2d 240.
Power to define game animals is unconstitutional. — Laws 1931, ch. 117, is a proper exercise of the police power of the state. It is not an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power, except as to Subdivision A of this section. State ex rel. Sofeico v. Heffernan, 1936-NMSC-069, 41 N.M. 219, 67 P.2d 240.
Authority over wild horses. — Although the Wildlife Conservation Act defines the term "wildlife" as any nondomestic animal, wild horses on the White Sands Missile Range do not fall within the classification. Because the authority of the State Game Commission is limited by statute, the Game Commission lacks jurisdiction over these wild horses. 1994 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 94-06.
Law reviews. — For student article, "Preventing the Extinction of Candidate Species: The Lesser Prairie-Chicken in New Mexico", see 49 Nat. Resources J. 525 (2009).
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 35 Am. Jur. 2d Fish and Game § 31.
Power of game or fish commission to open or close season, 34 A.L.R. 832.
Applicability, to domesticated or captive game, of game laws relating to closed season and the like, 74 A.L.R.2d 974.
36A C.J.S. Fish §§ 26, 37; 38 C.J.S. Game §§ 45, 46, 50.
