NMAGO 03-06.

• Case Date: November 19, 2003
• Court: New Mexico

New Mexico Attorney General Opinions 2003. NMAGO 03-06. November 19, 2003OPINION OF Opinion No. 03-06PATRICIA A. MADRID Attorney General BY: Elizabeth A. Glenn Assistant Attorney General TO: The Honorable William H. Payne State SenatorP.O. Box 14823 Albuquerque, N.M. 87191 QUESTION: Do the State Game Commission's regulations governing the allocation of elk hunting licenses on the Valles Caldera National Preserve ("Preserve") for the 2002-2003 season comply with state laws governing the allocation of hunting licenses by special drawing?CONCLUSION: No. As applied to the issuance of licenses for bull elk hunting in the Preserve, the regulations are inconsistent with state law, which specifies how licenses issued through a special drawing must be allocated among state residents and non-residents. FACTS: The State Game Commission's regulations governing the allocation of elk hunting licenses on the Preserve for the 2002-2003 season provide that 100 percent of bull elk licenses will be issued to persons who have obtained access to the Preserve for elk hunting in a lottery for that purpose held by the Valles Caldera Trust. These procedures have been questioned under NMSA 1978, Section 17-3-16 (1997), which requires that 78% of licenses issued through a public drawing be allocated to New Mexico residents. ANALYSIS: I. The Valles Caldera National Preserve In 2000, Congress passed the Valles Caldera Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C.A. §§ 698v to 698v-10, under which the United States purchased the Baca Ranch in the Jemez Mountains in Northern New Mexico. The Act establishes the Preserve as a unit of the National Forest System. § 698v-3. The Preserve is managed by the Valles Caldera Trust ("Trust"), which is governed by a nine member Board of Trustees ("Board"). §§ 698v-4, 698v-5. Congress envisioned the Preserve as a "working ranch under a unique management regime which would protect the land and resource values of the property and surrounding ecosystem while allowing and providing for the ranch to eventually become financially self-sustaining." 16 U.S.C.A. § 698v(a)(8). Congress also found that the Preserve could "provide numerous recreational opportunities for hiking, fishing, camping, cross-country skiing, and hunting." § 698v(a)(6). The Trust is authorized to "assess reasonable fees for admission to, and the use and...