The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has the responsibility of overseeing the management of the state’s wildlife species and their habitats. A diverse coalition of groups across the state are pushing for proposed legislation that would increase funding for the department, rename the department and clarify its mission, and fix the state Game Commission that some feel has been politicized.

Jesse Deubel and Judy Calman join “Conversations Different” to discuss the issues they feel are negatively impacting the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and share how a reform package that will be considered during the upcoming legislative session can help address these problems.

Deubel, the executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, talks about the department’s lack of funding and the need to reform the state Game Commission. The department relies on funding from hunting and fishing license fees, which haven’t been raised in 20 years. Deubel said raising fees is the quickest way to address what he calls a funding crisis. Calman, New Mexico policy director for Audubon Southwest, talks about the effort to change the department’s name to the New Mexico Department of Wildlife Conservation, and the need to clearly define the agency’s mission. She said the department’s limited resources are largely focused on game species. The legislation would give the agency authority to do what it needs to do based on science.

Learn more about the reform package at https://www.wildlifefornm.org/.

This episode is sponsored by Homewise.

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