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NEW MEXICO DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP

Currency:USD Category:Hunting Start Price:0.00 USD Estimated At:NA
NEW MEXICO DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP
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This item SOLD at 2024 Jan 19 @ 22:33UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
FR-48
NEW MEXICO DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP

NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME & FISH - WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT DIVISION
Nicole Tatman
C: 505.469.3966
Katie Piecora
C: 505.538.0825
Caitlin Ruhl
C: 505.414.5029
BOOTH# 465
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) will auction just 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special permit holders, may submit a bid to obtain the desert bighorn permit unless their hunting privileges have been revoked.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 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.
New Mexico is a great state to hunt desert bighorn. A New Mexico desert ram scoring 185 4/8 was the top ram at the 2022 Boone and Crockett 31st Big Game Awards. 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. Since 2012, 22 desert rams scoring greater than 180 Boone and Crockett have been harvested.
The successful bidder must select by June 30, 2024, 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, 2024. 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, 2024.

A 5% buyer’s premium will be added to the final bid price of this special permit/tag (unless prohibited by statute). The 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.