OPINION:EPLUS works for New Mexico's sportsmen and wildlife

Even if you are not a hunter or a landowner, the debate over New Mexico’s Elk Private Land Use System, EPLUS, should concern you. There is much at stake for all New Mexicans and for all of New Mexico’s wildlife.

The EPLUS system, similar to programs in a number of other states, provides a limited number of hunting license authorizations to compensate landowners for providing important wildlife habitat. Many sportsmen participate in and support the EPLUS system. Some sportsmen, however, are advocating for the elimination of the program, claiming it reduces their chances of drawing a hunt. These same sportsmen are also advocating for reductions in non-resident and outfitter licenses.

Here is what is important to know. In New Mexico, more than 50% of the state is privately owned and these lands provide much of the habitat that wildlife need to survive. New Mexico is also an unusually “land-rich, cash-poor” state. We rank 49th in poverty but have a higher than national average of home and land ownership. Many families have been on the same land for generations. According to the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research — BBER: “Of the 25,044 farms in New Mexico, 1 in 3 have Hispanic/Latino producers and 1 in 4 have Native American producers.

Yet, many family farms and ranches are struggling to survive. According to BBER, the state is losing an average of 218,000 agricultural acres per year to development. There are very limited ways to generate sufficient income to keep lands intact and to support land-based rural economies. Ranching and farming is the primary means of doing this across much of rural New Mexico, yet in many cases, damage from elk to fences and competition for forage with livestock threatens the economic viability of these operations. Income from hunting has also long been important to the economic survival of many family farms and ranches.

Advocates of repealing EPLUS claim that landowners can recoup the costs of supporting public wildlife through trespass fees. However, this discriminates against smaller farms and ranches that bear the costs of providing essential winter habitat but have little or no ability to charge trespass fees. If anything, more EPLUS tags are needed to provide fair compensation to those who are incurring unsustainable costs for the benefit of public wildlife.

Two things happen when land is unable to support reasonable livelihoods. One is that land is developed or converted to intensive and more profitable land uses, in which case the habitat is lost. The other is that eventually only the wealthiest will be able to afford to own the land. The elimination of the EPLUS program would result in significantly greater inequity across the state.

Further, the proposed reductions in non-resident and outfitter tags will have a direct and immediate impact not just on land ownership but on much of the state’s rural economy. This is because non-resident hunters significantly outspend resident hunters on food, supplies, services and accommodations. Non-resident hunters also spend much more in rural communities while resident hunters concentrate spending in urban areas.

EPLUS benefits New Mexicans and our wildlife year after year at no cost to taxpayers. Landowners who can afford to do so also donate many EPLUS tags to youth, veterans, charitable organizations and neighbors in need.

The campaign to eliminate EPLUS and reduce non-resident tags places the sporting interests of the few over many people’s livelihoods, rural economies, local food security and New Mexico’s wildlife. In the end, it will also result in habitat loss, fewer elk, fewer tags and lower quality hunts.