Spring 2010 Open Gate: It’s like creating more public land Mounyo signed up with Open Gate, hunt- access to larger tracts of state or federal Gate – and he doesn’t even hunt or fish. Landowners, hunters ers got another 160 acres to hunt – plus im- property. Either way, the landowner gets a “It’s working great,” he said. “I have not proved access to 40,000 acres of adjacent check and sportsmen get to chase public had any trouble with any hunters.” In fact, embrace new program federal land. wildlife on private land. he has talked neighbors into enrolling, By Joel Gay Jim Frank Richardson opened his New Mexico’s program is only a few Wertheim said. New Mexico Wildlife Federation 25,000-acre ranch in eastern New Mexi- years old, but so far it’s going well, said Open Gate was created in 2005 and be- co to turkey, quail and dove hunters, and Aaron Roberts, who coordinates Open gan collecting its operating funds the fol- New Mexico sportsmen have more than specifically invites youth hunters onto his Gate for the Department of Game and lowing spring – it gets $1 from each Habi- 30 million acres of public land to hunt and land for a chance to shoot a deer. Fish. Nearly all the landowners who have tat Management and Access Validation fish on. They got 18,000 more when ranch- Open Gate does exactly what its name enrolled in the past continue to sign up, stamp sold. The stamp fees provide about er Bill Wertheim opened his Pecos River implies – it opens the gate for public sports- he said, and complaints from hunters and $250,000 a year, but currently only about valley property to upland game hunters men by leasing land from willing private landowners are minimal. half the money is being used to lease prop- through the state’s Open Gate program. landowners. Some leases offer good hunt- Wertheim, whose ranch is near Fort When Socorro-area landowner Johnny ing or fishing opportunity. Others provide Sumner, said he’s a supporter of Open See “Open Gate,” Page 12 Trophies back Turkey season once illegal puts spring in roads closed step of many Authorities tap 1973 New regulations aim law to curb illegal to improve opportunity activity in Carson NF for ‘fans of fans’ By Garrett VeneKlasen By Jim Bates Special to the New Mexico Wildlife Federation Special to the New Mexico Wildlife Federation It was one of those mid-September out- There’s something about the gobble of a ings that public land elk hunters dream of wild turkey at close range. It’s not so much but rarely experience. about hearing the sound as feeling it. The By 11 a.m. my cousin Darrell and I had gobble has a certain reverberation that lit- close encounters with five “shooter” bulls, erally penetrates the soul and the psyche. including a 330-class 6-by-6 that was in Those who experience it – and especial- such a bugling, chuckling frenzy that he ly those who have called the turkey in – of- brushed my shoulder with his antler! ten are awestruck by the encounter. Over Elk were everywhere: cows, calves, time, the pursuit of the wild turkey gobbler spikes, satellite and herd bulls spread during the spring hunt can indeed become across the entire three-mile slope of a re- an obsession. cently created roadless area in Carson Na- My first encounter with an amorous gob- tional Forest near Taos. bler occurred in a remote canyon in the It wasn’t just the sheer number of ani- Gila Wilderness back in 1975. That bird mals that made the hunt so special. The elk came to my calling on the last day of the were unusually comfortable because the spring hunt. I was so transfixed by the per- off-road vehicle traffic that once pushed formance he put on for me that cold and the animals into the dark timber soon after windy April morning that I was forever daybreak was no longer present. changed. As I stood over the magnificent I was calling and Darrell had the tag. bird, his iridescent feathers glistening in Darrell passed on five bulls because he the early morning sunlight just breaking glimpsed a sixth that made the others look over the pine-covered ridge above, I knew like raghorns. I had found my hunting passion. Here, We nicknamed him the “moaner” be- some 35 years and many, many similar cause of his deep-chested, plaintive hunts later, the flame that kindled that pas- groans. Now and again we could catch a sion remains strong. glimpse of his massive rack as he trotted The fact is, I am not at all a rarity in my through the timber trying to rein in his harem. See “Turkey,” Page 3 Late that afternoon we set up on the bull. He was pacing and bugling along a Darrell Johnson heads out of the woods after a successful bowhunt in Carson National low ridge line above a wallow, and Darrell Forest. He took the animal in an area where state and federal authorities have started moved into position about 75 yards below enforcing off-road vehicle laws, allowing game populations to thrive and hunters to INSIDE: him. Soon I heard Darrell’s bow release, enjoy improved opportunity. (Photo by Lane Warner) the crack of the arrow, and the big bull •Antelope to get management thundering back up the ridge into the tim- highway a half mile away. This was public that off-road vehicle operations are dam- plan for first time, Page 6 ber. We followed his blood trail for about land hunting at its finest! aging wildlife reproduction, management •Peek behind the scenes on 100 yards, but with darkness falling we de- But we only have such a story to tell be- or habitat. Whites Peak trades, Page 8 cided to leave the bull alone until the next cause the state Legislature, in 1973, passed Wherever this act was properly imple- morning. the Habitat Protection Act. The act allows mented, wildlife flourished. Game and •Bank of America pockets big We returned at daybreak and found the the Department of Game and Fish to work non-game species alike rely on large, con- bucks from hunt fees, Page 13 monarch on a logging road 300 yards from with private landowners or public land tiguous, protected tracts of country for where Darrell shot him. After consider- management agencies like the U.S. For- food, cover and breeding habitat. After •Game wardens to target the able celebration, we carefully quartered est Service to restrict vehicle use when worst offenders, Page 14 the bull and packed him downhill to the the State Game Commission determines See “Carson,” Page 5 President’s Message: Private lands conservation work important to all By Ed Olona, President ownership. New Mexico Wildlife Federation Conservation easements are an impor- tant tool for landowners who do not want As New Mexico hunters, anglers and to see their property developed and sub- outdoor enthusiasts, we spend the vast ma- divided. As Joel Gay explains in this is- jority of our time on public land. A survey sue, the conservation easement movement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a few has been slow to take root in New Mexico, years ago found that more than 90 percent due in part to a lack of funds and in part of resident hunters here use public lands. to some popular misconceptions. But with An overwhelming majority of days afield the help of local and national land trusts that involve hiking and fishing are also (some of which are profiled on Page 11) spent on public lands and waters. and new sources of funding created with So it can be too easy sometimes for the the help of NMWF and others, conserva- average New Mexico resident to overlook tion easements are becoming a viable tool the importance of large and small blocks for more and more landowners in the state. of private land to our wildlife and outdoor Funding for habitat restoration and im- way of life. provement is a key tool to assist private We at the New Mexico Wildlife Federa- landowners interested in wildlife con- tion also spend the majority of our time and servation. Today, private land conserva- efforts on public land—working to protect tion programs in the federal Farm Bill places like the Valle Vidal, Valles Caldera, total more than the entire budget of the Otero Mesa, the Rio Grande Gorge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But even Ed Olona is president of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, which has helped initiate Organ Mountains, Whites Peak and other as funds for conservation programs have several programs that benefit landowners and sportsmen alike. places where all citizens can enjoy wildlife skyrocketed, the number of staff to imple- and outdoor activities. However, working ment them has plummeted. Many state interest of landowners and sportsmen, and trading hunters’ access to public land for to implement programs and funding that wildlife agencies have picked up the slack as we were told by program coordinator access to private land, all in the name of support private land conservation is also a by hiring their own biologists—a strat- Aaron Roberts, “The sky’s the limit.” It resolving disputes for the landowner. Most large and important part of what we do at egy that has proved successful in bring- isn’t known whether the Department of of the unitizations appear to benefit both NMWF. ing money to the state and implementing Game and Fish will have the staffing or sides, but the public has been left out of the This issue of the Outdoor Reporter is habitat improvements on the ground.