Local hunters think they’re getting the raw end of the deal when it comes to handing out elk tags and are asking the state Gaming Commission to review its policies.
New Mexico hunters are complaining the Elk Private Land Use System or EPLUS is unfair and responsible for the bulk of elk tags going to out-of-state residents.
According to data collected by the NM Wildlife Federation, more than 75% of all licenses issued through the EPLUS system, are going to non-residents.
“Just last year, that generated more than $83-million worth of sales to private individuals that are selling a public resource,” Jesse Deubel, the Executive Director of the NM Wildlife Federation told KRQE.
The Wildlife Federation is asking the State Gaming Commission to review its policies and give locals better opportunities. Game and Fish officials contend New Mexicans are getting more tags than out-of-state residents and have no plans to change their practices.
That's welcome news to people like Guston Woods, who owns Pasamonte Hunts, a business that has been in his family for generations, which leads hunters along 56,000 acres of land near Clayton. Woods, whose family has been in business since 1934, said out-of-state hunters purchase about 90% of his allotment of elk licenses. He contends out-of-state hunters impact the economy.
“Local taxidermy, them staying, eating at restaurants, AirBNB, ammo,” Woods said to KRQE. “One of our hunters bought three guns at our local store while he was here.”