Why It Matters: State fish and wildlife agencies are the fundamental entities that secure our sporting heritage. They are where state and federal tax dollars and regulations, biologists, outdoor recreationists, and conservation ideals come together to manage our wildlife and wild places for everyone to enjoy. Having a well-funded, and organized, fish and wildlife agency and commission that preserves the North American Model of Conservation is important to ensuring access and opportunity for sportsmen and women.
Highlights:
- During the 2025 New Mexico Legislative Session, a broad coalition of sporting and conservation groups, including the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), worked together to pass Senate Bill 5 (NM SB 5), which instituted sweeping reforms to the New Mexico Department of Fish and Game (NMDFG).
- This bill, sponsored by Representative Nathan Small, a New Mexico Sportsmen’s Caucus (NMSC) co-chair, addressed several challenges the NMDFG was facing, including serious underfunding, politicization of the Fish and Game Commission, and lack of independence and authority.
- As we approach the 2026 short budget session, CSF looks toward the horizon to build momentum from SB 5 and the 2025 session to educate legislators and pass more legislation that benefits the sporting community.
The New Mexico Department of Fish and Game faced a crisis as the 2025 legislative session began. They were severely underfunded, to the point that there were serious questions about if they could make payroll. Failure to do so would have created immediate and devastating effects across New Mexico for both wildlife and outdoor recreationists.
NM SB 5 was sponsored by NMSC co-chair Representative Nathan Small and supported by NMSC members on both sides of the aisle. It raised license prices modestly for the first time in over 20 years, without placing an unnecessary financial burden on consumptive recreators. For example, a resident fishing license went from $25 to $35, and sportsmen and women were overwhelmingly supportive of the increase as part of the solution NMDFG funding crisis. The Department’s budget at the time was entirely reliant on dollars raised from recreational license sales and other sportsmen’s funding mechanisms like Pittman-Robertsen and Dingell-Johnson. NM SB 5 updated state statute to allow the legislature to help fund the department, which resulted in a $10.5 million investment from the Government Results and Opportunity (GRO) fund. This left sportsmen without the burden of footing the entire bill to fund NMDFG.
Additionally, the agency lacked the statutory authority to make decisions regarding all wildlife, leaving NMDFG without the tools to manage important plants and animals in the state’s ecosystem. NM SB 5 corrected this by updating the Department’s statutory mission, establishing legislative intent, and delegating management authority for all wildlife to NMDFG, among many other department-related reforms.
The Fish and Wildlife Commission had also become a polarizing and politicized entity that was disjointed and insulated from the input of legislators and the public at large. This bill addressed these concerns by implementing a myriad of checks of balances, including ensuring legislative input on Commission appointees, establishing qualifications for experience and expertise, and making sure no Commissioner could be removed without proper cause.
CSF worked with a wide variety of partners in New Mexico to ensure NM SB 5’s passage with bipartisan support. Jesse Duebel of New Mexico Wildlife Federation was one such partner who helped spearhead the effort to get this necessary reform passed. “SB5, The Wildlife Heritage Act, is the most transformational piece of legislation with regard to wildlife conservation that has passed in New Mexico in my lifetime,” said Jesse. “From bumblebees to bighorn sheep, our state wildlife agency is tasked with ensuring that we have robust populations of wildlife for future generations to enjoy. Because of the success accomplished by the broadest conservation coalition ever compiled, the new Department of Wildlife has both the authority and the resources it needs to apply a 21st century approach to wildlife management in the fourth most biodiverse state in the nation.”
As we approach the 2026 New Mexico Legislative Session, CSF will continue to work with partners and legislative sportsman’s caucus members to build off the historic win of NM SB 5 and put more good legislation on the books for hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and trappers as we continue to educate the general public and elected officials about the issues at the core of our mission.
