ATTORNEY GENERAL RAUL TORREZ FINDS OUTFITTER SET-ASIDE UNCONSTITUTIONAL PUTTING OUT-OF-STATE HUNTERS AHEAD OF NEW MEXICO FAMILIES

SANTA FE, N.M., Oct. 13 -- The New Mexico Attorney General issued the following press release:

Opinion finds program gives outfitters exclusive access to public wildlife for little more than a registration fee; 90 percent of set-aside elk tags went to nonresidents Santa Fe, NM - Attorney General Raul Torrez issued a formal legal opinion, requested by members of the New Mexico Legislature, concluding that the state's "outfitter set-aside" violates the anti-donation clause of the New Mexico Constitution. In the 2022-23 season, more than 90 percent of set-aside elk licenses went to out-of-state hunters, while New Mexico families competed for what was left in an oversubscribed public draw. "For generations, hunting elk on our public lands hasn...