Sharon Salazar Hickey Resigns from NM State GAME Commission
Jan. 6, 2026
Sharon Salazar Hickey, vice-chair of the New Mexico State Game Commission, has resigned effective Dec. 31.
Salazar Hickey, of Santa Fe, has served on the commission since January 2020. She recently retired after working for decades at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a staff attorney, group leader and program manager.
Salazar Hickey said Tuesday that she resigned from the commission in order to go on an extended boating trip with her husband, retired Santa Fe lawyer John Hickey. She said she originally had considered remaining on the commission while traveling, but ultimately decided she couldn’t devote sufficient attention to the position.
The couple recently bought a 41-foot power boat and will leave in coming weeks to pilot it over the coming year from the Gulf of Florida north, up the Atlantic Coast. They will take the Erie Canal west to the Great Lakes, and then travel to reach the Mississippi and return to Florida.
“I’m leaving because I will be embarking on a lifetime outdoor adventure called ‘America’s Great Loop,’ Salazar Hickey said. “It is something that typically takes nine months to a year to complete. So I will be outdoors enjoying the eastern parts of the United States and parts of Canada. And I will be unable to dedicate the proper time and attention that is deserving to be on the state game commission.”
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Salazar Hickey to the commission in early 2020 to replace former commission Chair Joanna Prukop, whom the governor did not reappoint when her term expired.
Salazar Hickey’s departure this month leaves the seven-member game commission with two vacancies. She represented District 4 on the commission, which covers Santa Fe, Taos, Colfax, Union, Mora, Harding, Quay, San Miguel, Guadalupe and Torrance counties.
Lujan Grisham in August removed Sabrina Pack of Silver City from the game commission over Pack’s involvement in a marketing campaign aimed at diminishing federal protections for the Mexican gray wolf.
Salazar Hickey served as commission chair until 2024, when the majority of commissioners elected newly appointed Commissioner Richard Stump as chair.
The game commission is scheduled to meet Friday in Santa Fe. The election of a chair and vice chair are on the agenda for the meeting.
Although Lujan Grisham has held the power to appoint and remove game commissioners at will, that’s about to change. A state law taking effect next year will require a nine-member State Wildlife Commission Nominating Committee to nominate qualified nominees for commission positions. It will set specific requirements for commissioners' backgrounds, including representation from ranching, conservation, hunting, and scientific fields.
Salazar Hickey said it’s been an honor to serve on the commission. “Like everyone, I have a very deep passion and respect for wildlife, and for those persons who share my same passion. It’s not easy because everybody has a different point of view, but at the end of the day, I think everyone works together to come up with a very good decision when it comes to policy-making.”
