NMWF at work
Depredation reform dead for 2010
New Mexico will have to endure at least another year of the wasteful slaughter of our big game after a legislative committee killed an effort to reform the state depredation law.
HB 73 appeared to be doing well after winning quick approval in its first committee. Then Rep. Debbie Rodella of Espanola used her political influence to have the bill steered into her Business and Industry Committee, which is known as “The Hammer” because of its hard-nosed attitude toward legislation, according to one committee member. On Feb. 5, the committee lived up to its reputation, grilling the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mimi Stewart, and Department of Game and Fish officials for more than an hour before agreeing to table HB 73. None of the committee members (see the list below) voiced support for the measure.
NMWF and other advocates of HB 73 pointed out to the committee that the current law allows the wasteful slaughter of big game by a few unscrupulous landowners. The proposed bill would have ended the unlicensed killing of elk, antelope and other big game and doubled the amount of financial aid (paid solely by hunters) available to ranchers for fencing or land improvements. Department officials including Director Tod Stevenson acknowledged that depredation is a major issue for New Mexico ranchers and farmers, and said that while passing HB 73 wouldn’t resolve all the problems, it was a good first step.
But the agriculture industry showed its political strength on Saturday, nearly filling the committee chambers with opponents and challenging HB 73 on every front. Virtually no ranchers said they wished to kill wildlife without a license or outside of a sanctioned hunt as the “Jennings Law” allows, but many ranchers used their time to attack NMDGF for its handling of past depredation complaints, for failing to build fences or refusing to give them additional transferable hunting permits. “If we allow this to pass,” said Carlos Salazar, president of the Northern New Mexico Stockmen’s Association, “the next thing the Game Department will come after is our landowner permits.”
In fact, one of the many reasons why NMWF supported the bill is because the current depredation statute gives landowners a tool to extract more transferable license authorizations from the department. Rodella made that point clear. Ranchers and farmers don’t like shooting animals that damage or threaten their crops, she told her committee, but added: “It’s the only tool they still have to get the attention of the Game and Fish Department. That’s what it’s intended to do and I think it has served the purpose.”
The Business and Industry Committee is an unusual stop for wildlife bills, and it was clear that many members had little idea about the current depredation law, how the landowner tag system works or even how many members the Game Commission has. Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert said she was only half-joking when she asked whether there was contraception available for wildlife.
HB 73 is dead for the year, but kudos to Gov. Bill Richardson for keeping the depredation reform issue alive. Richardson vowed to bring the issue back this year after a similar bill died in the waning hours of the Legislature last year - after passing the full Senate and two House committees. Some opponents of HB 73 attacked it for not being the same as last year, but supporters believe it was a better bill because it eliminated direct compensation for depredation damage and attempted to steer limited assistance funds to the most pressing problems.
NMWF will continue working with other groups to develop a bill that can pass the Legislature and fix the depredation law. Agricultural industry groups supported last year’s bill, proving that the agricultural industry can be amenable to solving the problem created by the “Jennings Law.” Furthermore, Richardson’s efforts to prioritize bills to solve the issue have helped to make the public aware of the problem and the need to fix it. It sometimes takes years of trying to get a bill through the New Mexico Legislature, and sometimes takes changes in the legislature itself before important bills can break through, but NMWF will continue to push for depredation reform until it passes.
In the meantime, sportsmen can take away a valuable lesson from this legislative loss. HB 73 was a classic example of how politics works in New Mexico, and why sportsmen need to keep getting more involved. In this case, the bill appeared to be doing well until a single powerful legislator hijacked it into her committee where it could be delayed or killed outright. The agricultural industry then packed the committee hearing and not a single member of the Business and Industry Committee was willing to stand up and speak up on behalf of the bill, although several members said they were sympathetic.
What can you do to help? The legislative session is over next week, and our citizen legislators head home for another year. After the session is over, take the time to call your legislator, introduce yourself and help bring them up to speed on the issues important to wildlife, hunters and anglers in New Mexico. All our legislators are volunteers in New Mexico and community members just like you, you can make a difference if you take the time to get involved. You can find your legislator at legis.state.nm.us.