AMEND EPLUS - Sign Up to Stay Engaged!

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers upholds the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation which states that "government allocates access to wildlife without regard for wealth, prestige, or land ownership,” and that wild game hunting opportunity must be allocated in a fair and equitable manner. BHA does not support the allocation of state, provincial, or territorial issued transferable and/or saleable hunting licenses or authorizations for any wild game species as compensation. Entitlement to wild game hunting licenses, tags or other authorizations that monetize opportunities on public trust resources for private gain should be disallowed. We urge wildlife management agencies to avoid policies and regulations that establish transactional circumstances that monetize wild game hunting opportunity and compromise equity in access to public trust resources. Sign up to stay engaged on this issue stand with us in asking decision makers to amend EPLUS.
As an avid hunter, you probably are familiar with the EPLUS program, including the controversial element that allows the use of a so-called “private land tag” on public lands. The official justification for this is that all hunters, not just those who purchase a tag through EPLUS, can hunt on ranches that receive unitwide tags. The problem, of course, is that elk often can’t be found on these ranches during hunting seasons. Otherwise, the landowner would have chosen “ranch-only” tags, right? So if you, as either a resident or non-resident DIY elk hunter in New Mexico, have had experiences with 1) the EPLUS program as a whole, 2) sharing your GMU with “private land” hunters, or 3) difficulty finding or hunting on a ranch that is “open” to hunting because it received unitwide tags, please share your story here. Or send us a message at newmexico@backcountryhunters.org and we’ll call you back to hear your story in person.
 
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