Wildlife
Our state and national wildlife populations have experienced steep declines through loss of habitat and climate change.
According to the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2022, “Monitored populations of vertebrates (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish) have seen a devastating 69 percent drop on average since 1970.”
In 2019, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology concluded a 50-year study that reported a decline of 29 percent in bird populations in North America, with an estimated loss of 3 billion birds across all biomes.
New Mexico Wildlife
New Mexico has the fourth highest native species count of any US state and our wildlife faces many challenges, including climate change, habitat loss and a 20-year drought.
Wildlife is under the legal stewardship of the NM Department of Game and Fish, an antiquated agency that “manages” primarily for hunting. Reform of this agency is long overdue, with the aim of conservation and biodiversity guided by science.
This change of focus reflects the value that New Mexicans place on wildlife. While hunting has declined to less than seven percent of the population, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife viewing is the fastest growing outdoor recreation in the country.
In its 2025 session, legislators will be voting on a bill to reform the Game and Fish department and its governing body, the NM Game Commission. Senate Bill 5 seeks “to provide for the conservation and management of the state’s wildlife as a public trust resource with ecological, economic and intrinsic value, as well as for the benefit, use, food supply and nonconsumptive enjoyment of all.”
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Take Action
Write or call your NM state senators and representatives and contact NM Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and urge them to reform and modernize the NM Department of Game and Fish and the NM Game Commission for the protection of all our New Mexico wildlife. Tell them to vote for Senate Bill 5, Game Commission Reform.
National Wildlife
President Biden passed an executive order called the 30×30 Initiative to protect 30 percent of all land and marine ecosystems in the U.S. by 2030. This could save an estimated 1 million species from extinction. President Trump may repeal this initiative.
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Take Action
Contact your U.S. Senators, Contact your U.S. Representatives, and President Trump to encourage them to advocate for the implementation of the 30X30 Initiative.
