Over 100 years ago, the New Mexico State Legislature passed a bill which created the NM State Game Commission. In 1917 the NMWF founder Aldo Leopold, said the purpose of the commission was to “Get the game department out of politics.”

On May 28, 2019, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed seven exceptionally qualified people to serve on the game commission. As of this date [Jan. 21, 2022], only three of those seven appointees still serve on the commission.

In this episode we take a deep dive into the unraveling of our game commission and how the agency the commission is supposed to oversee -- the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish -- has come to be called an “agency in crisis.”

New Mexico Wildlife Federation Executive Director Jesse Deubel visits with former chair of the commission, Joanna Prukop and former vice chair, Jeremy Vesbach. The governor removed Prukop from the commission without explanation on Dec. 31, 2019 after only six months of service. The governor removed Vesbach on Jan. 4, 2022, also with no reasonable explanation.

For anybody who hunts or fishes in New Mexico or anybody generally concerned about wildlife management in the state, this is a MUST LISTEN episode. Learn the intricacies of the issues facing our state wildlife agency, our game commission and most importantly learn what you can do to help. Enjoy the listen!

For more info:
https://nmwildlife.org/