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NEW MEXICO DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP PERMIT NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME & FISH - WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT DI

Currency:USD Category:Hunting Start Price:10.00 USD Estimated At:NA
NEW MEXICO DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP PERMIT NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME & FISH - WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT DI
During the week of January 14-19th you will be able to contact Auction Support at 406-404-8765.
A 5% buyer’s premium will be added to the final bid price of this special permit/tag (unless prohibited by statute.) Proceeds will be dedicated to WSF Conservation Initiatives. If the winner of this item refuses to pay the premiums required, the item shall be offered to the next highest bidder for the price he/she bid.
NEW MEXICO DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP PERMIT
NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME & FISH - WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT DIVISION
Eric Rominger
P: 505.476.8045
C: 505.690.3207
Caitlin Ruhl
P: 505.476.8063
C: 505.414.5029
BOOTH# 1524
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) will auction one desert bighorn sheep permit. As authorized by state law, the Bighorn Sheep Enhancement Program will receive 90% of the proceeds for projects to benefit bighorn sheep with 10% of the proceeds retained by the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF). Anyone, including previous special permit holders, may submit a bid to obtain the 2020 desert bighorn permit unless their hunting privileges have been revoked. The permit may be transferred by the successful bidder to an individual qualified to hunt.
The rule in New Mexico was changed in 2019. As in the past, the auction winner will have the first choice of any open unit (Auction Hunter exclusive unit). The raffle hunter will then declare to hunt in a second open unit (Raffle Hunter exclusive unit). The remaining open units may also be hunted by EITHER the Auction Hunter or the Raffle Hunter! Currently there are 6 desert bighorn sheep hunt units open for the 2020 season.

New Mexico is THE state to hunt for desert bighorn. Since 2013 a New Mexico desert ram won the WSF Gold Medal 3 times and the WSF Silver Medal twice. Nine of New Mexico’s top-10 scoring desert bighorn have been harvested since 2012. This includes three of the largest rams to be harvested in North America in the last 27 years: the No. 5 Boone and Crockett ram scoring 195 3/8, No. 11 Boone and Crockett ram scoring 191 0/8, and the No. 15 Boone and Crockett ram scoring 188 2/8. In 2018, 17 of 28 New Mexico desert rams scored higher than the B&C record book minimum of 168. Check with the NMDGF Booth in Reno for the 2019 results.

The successful bidder must select by June 30, 2020 one of the following as their exclusive hunt unit: Peloncillo Mountains (Unit 27), the Hatchet Mountains (Unit 26), the Fra Cristobal Mountains (Unit 20--north), the Caballo Mountains (Unit 20--south), the Ladron Mountains (Unit 13/17), the San Andres Mountains (Unit 19). Hunt dates run from August 1 through December 31, 2020. Some restrictions apply on the private land hunt in the Fra Cristobal Mountains and the San Andres Mountains which is primarily on the restricted White Sands Missile Range. The raffle hunter must choose their exclusive unit by July 20, 2020. For specifics on these hunts contact NMDGF bighorn sheep biologists Eric Rominger (505) 690-3207 or Caitlin Ruhl (505) 414-5029 or visit them at the NMDGF booth in Reno.