Conservation
In a previous message we alerted NM Trout members that the NM Department of Game and Fish is seeking public comment on the draft of a new fisheries management plan that will help guide the department's efforts into the future. The Board of Directors has approved the letter below as the official response from the club. We encourage members to submit their own individual comments. A 129 MB, high resolution copy of the plan with excellent maps is available on the NMG&F website. A more compact version is available on the NM Trout website. Public comments can be sent by ... Read More
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) has just released a 2015 draft fisheries management plan for the entire state of New Mexico. The draft is the product of a year and a half effort led by NMDGF Assistant Chief of Fisheries, Kirk Patten, to update the current plan. The plan contains a lot of detail that should be of interest to NM Trout members and NMDGF is specifically asking for our members' comments on it. Members may want to address whether catch-and-release regulations should be applied to more New Mexico streams. Submit any responses on-line by October ... Read More
Nearly two months after the Gold King mine spill, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish biologists say fish caught in sections of the Animas and San Juan rivers are safe to eat. Immediately following the spill, the department issued a catch and release recommendation. However, recent tissue samples from fish revealed only trace amounts of metals that are within acceptable levels for human consumption. The department will continue collecting and testing species of fish. Collections will be taken again at six months post spill, one year post spill and then annually. Link to NM Game & Fish announcement ... Read More
There will be a public meeting in Albuquerque on New Mexico fisheries management plan on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 6:00 to 7:00 PM. SANTA FE -The Department of Game and Fish is seeking public comment on the draft of a new fisheries management plan that will help guide the department's efforts into the future. The new plan includes management direction for specific waters, primary fish species and project priorities. The last comprehensive, statewide, fisheries management plan was adopted in 1987 and only covered sportfish. The new draft plan includes sportfish as well native and non-game fish. The draft plan also includes ... Read More
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has just released a draft fisheries management plan for the entire state of New Mexico. The draft is the product of a year and a half effort led by NMDGF Fisheries Manager, Kirk Patten, to update the current plan. The plan contains a lot of detail that should be of interest to NM Trout members and NMDGF is specifically asking for our members’ comments on it. Submit them on-line by October 31st to DGF-StatewideFishPlan@state.nm.us. The actual plan is a 23 MB download, so we have included a lower bandwidth copy. September 2015 - ... Read More
by Jerry Burton From the July/August 2015 Newsletter On October 1st, one of my favorite trout fishing places will change management. The Valles Caldera National Preserve will cease to be managed by a board of trustees, and will be managed by the National Park Service. I'm not sure what the change will bring to the trout fishery, even though I attended one of the public listening sessions held by the Park Service. I have had experience as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist in working with the Park Service in managing a trout fishery in Great Smoky Mountains National ... Read More
From the August/September 2015 Newsletter The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) has been executing a program to stock larger fish in local waters over recent years. The aim of the program that grows larger trout at several of its hatcheries is to keep anglers excited about the sport. The idea for the program came from the tremendous positive responses the department has received from anglers who had caught big trout, stocked in numerous fishing areas during the past few seasons. Many of those fat trout were the first generation raised at the Los Ojos Fish Hatchery after ... Read More
From the July/August 2015 newsletter On 5 Aug, a retaining wall of a holding pond at the now retired Gold King mine was accidentally breached by workers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), releasing millions of gallons of contaminants into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River. News reports and pictures showed the bright orange plume cascading through towns along the river, especially the recreation hot spot of Durango. This is one of the largest spills in the river since 1978, when the Sunnyside Mine breached the floor of Lake Emma high above Silverton, sending an estimated 500 million gallons of water and ... Read More