Published by the Las Cruces Bulletin | Edition 03/21/2025 | Link To Article
As a father of three, Ángel Peña said wildlife and the outdoors are an important part of his life.
“We definitely spend a lot of time outdoors, whether it be camping, hunting, fishing or just taking walks,” he said.
His daughter bagged her first elk during the fall hunting season after waiting six years to score a tag.
“Since October, we haven’t been to the groceries for meat,” he said.
Thanks to the elk tag, his daughter has not only been able to provide meat for the entire family, she is also giving friends some of the meat.
Peña is also the executive director of the Las Cruces-based organization Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project, which is among the groups that advocated for the passage of a Game Commission reform bill.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham partially vetoed Senate Bill 5 on Thursday.
Currently, the governor has the ability to remove members of the New Mexico Game Commission. The section of SB 5 that she vetoed would have required the State Ethics Commission to file an action in district court to remove a commissioner, and that could be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
“Given the many pressing matters addressed by district courts and the Supreme Court, it would take years to remove even the most blatantly incompetent or corrupt individuals – allowing those individuals to continue to hinder or corrupt the Commission in the interim,” Lujan Grisham wrote in her veto message.
In her message, Lujan Grisham stated that the partial veto “has nothing to do with me, as I am nearing the end of my second consecutive term in Office, and I doubt this issue will arise before I depart.”
Proponents of requiring action by the State Ethics Commission to remove a game commissioner said it would help take politics out of the equation.
Lujan Grisham signed into law the rest of SB 5, which includes changing the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to a wildlife department and giving it the purview to regulate a broader range of species, including insects. She also signed into law the increases in certain hunting license fees.
These increased fees—as well as other funding sources—will help the department better manage the broader array of species.
“A vision without resources is a little more than a hallucination,” Peña said.
He said his organization in particular supports raising the costs of non-resident licenses so that New Mexicans do not “bear the full brunt of that cost.”
Peña said he also supports having the department manage a broader range of species. He said managing more species will help make the ecosystems healthier for game species such as elk.
“Taking on that broader perspective, not only helps feed the families, but also helps encourage healthy New Mexico [game] stock...that belongs to New Mexicans,” he said.
Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces, was among the sponsors of SB 5.
“Southern New Mexico has a long, rich history of hunting and fishing, and is also blessed with a vibrant and diverse wildlife ecosystem,” he said in a statement. “The modernized wildlife management system established in Senate Bill 5 will help us protect both, while also supporting our growing outdoor recreation industry and preserving our natural heritage for future generations to enjoy.”