Game & Fish Reform (SB5) Passes Senate, Heads to House

Santa Fe, N.M. – March 1, 2025 – Today, members of New Mexico’s hunting, angling and conservation community released the following statement after the Senate passed SB 5, a measure to reform the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and the State Game Commission, with a 28-12 bipartisan vote. 

“This is very good news for the sportsmen community and will help New Mexico ensure wildlife is healthy for future generations,” said Jesse Deubel, Executive Director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation. “We call on the House to take up this bill quickly to give the Department the resources it needs and create a better functioning Game Commission to properly oversee it.” 

“This is bipartisanship in action,” said Dan Roper, New Mexico Program Lead for Trout Unlimited. “After years of negotiations, now is the time to get game and fish reform through the legislature and onto the governor’s desk. We appreciate the sponsors’ leadership and hope all House members will strongly support it.”

Since introduction, support for SB 5 bill has increased, including from organizations like Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, the New Mexico Houndsmen Association and Common Cause New Mexico. More than 20 organizations representing tens of thousands of New Mexicans now support the bill. 

"In New Mexico, thriving wildlife populations safeguard the air, land, and water we all need, and help maintain our cultural traditions and the outdoor recreation economy in both rural and urban communities,” said Judy Calman, the New Mexico director of policy for Audubon Southwest. “As one of the most biodiverse states in the nation, New Mexico deserves a 21st century wildlife management system with a better functioning and science-based Game Commission, and a Department that has the resources, tools and authority to manage all of our wildlife species.”

SB is sponsored by Sens. Peter Wirth, Pete Campos, Crystal Brantley, and Reps. Matthew McQueen and Nathan Small. It now awaits its first hearing in the House of Representatives.