NM Game Department Will Push to reduce Ibex Tags over coming years

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish will recommend a sharp reduction in the number of ibex tags to be issued in coming years, the department’s chief biologist told game commissioners on Friday.

Stewart Liley, head of the department’s Wildlife Division told commissioners that the number of ibex killed by hunters has dropped in recent years. He said the ibex population, which live in the state only on the rugged Florida Mountains outside Deming, is far below desired levels.

The commission met Friday in Santa Fe, kicking off the process for setting rules to manage ibex and several other species over the next four years. Liley said the department will release its specific recommendations on ibex permit reductions at a coming meeting.

The game department introduced Persian Ibex to the Floridas in the early 1970s. The population, which once topped 1,000 animals, has been falling in recent years.

Liley told commissioners that an aerial survey using special cameras that pick up the heat signatures of animals on the landscape found 185 animals on the mountain in April 2024. He said the department will conduct another similar survey soon.

Liley said the game department wants to manage the ibex population to stop the wide swings in population. He said the department would like to stabilize the population at between 350 to 700 animals.

Game biologists manage the ibex herd with care to keep them from spreading beyond the Florida Mountains out of concern that they could spread pneumonia to bighorn sheep.

Rifle- and bowhunters combined killed only 10 males and one female ibex last year out of some 300 licenses issued, Liley said. He said hunter satisfaction is down.

“When the population was high, we were seeing groups of hundreds of animals,” Liley said. He said groups of five animals are now common.

“We are going to propose cuts, what those cuts are going to be it’s hard to say, but probably pretty significant,” Liley said of ibex hunting permits. “I think everyone is pretty much in agreement that a reduction of licenses is necessary.”

The department will recommend that hunts for male ibex continue to reduce the ratio of males to females, Liley said. He said hunter harvest for females has been so low over the past four years that it’s essentially nonexistent, but said the population still hasn’t rebounded.

Commission Vice-Chair Fernando Clemente, a biologist, said he had brought the falling ibex population to the commission’s attention more than five years ago, before he was on the commission. He said department biologists told him at the time that the population would rebound quickly.

Liley responded that hunter harvest is not the main factor reducing the ibex population.

Commissioner Chris Witt, a biologist, asked Liley whether lions or golden eagles could be responsible. Liley responded that although surveys have found lions on the mountain, they don’t seem to stay there long-term. He said eagles could be having an effect.

In other action on Friday, Liley said the department recommends that hunters who draw javelina tags for southwestern New Mexico also be able to use those tags statewide in other areas where hunting for the animals has been allowed with over-the-counter tags.

The commission gave final approval to a regulation that requires nonresidents to acquire a $200 permit to collect more than two shed antlers. New Mexico residents are not required to have a permit to collect any number. 

The game commission will consider four-year rules this year to set seasons and regulations for deer, elk and other species. Liley said the game department will propose a change for all species requiring hunters to buy a license before the start of a hunt.

Liley said there have been instances in which hunters have bought licenses only hours before they have tagged harvested animals through the online Etag system, leading to suspicion that some hunters may be killing animals first and only buying a tag after they’re successful.

The commission voted to retain Richard Stump of Santa Fe as commission chair and voted for Clemente to serve as vice-chair. Former Vice-Chair Sharon Salazar Hickey resigned Dec. 31.

The commission voted to approve the following meeting schedule for the coming year, with specific locations to be determined later:

_ Feb. 20, Roswell

_ March 20, Albuquerque

_ May 29th, Deming

_ June 25, Portales

_ August 21, Las Vegas

_ Nov. 13, Last Cruces