Starting in 2023, fall elk hunt licenses for Valles Caldera National Preserve (Unit 6B) will increase from 265 to 350 tags —a 32% increase from the current 2022 season and a 67% increase since the National Park Service begin managing the park unit in 2015. The New Mexico State Game Commission approved this change at a recent meeting. The additional 85 elk tags are for antlerless hunts, open only to New Mexico residents.
“This change will provide more New Mexicans with the opportunity to put meat in their freezers and will help us better maintain a healthy elk population in the Jemez Mountains,” said Superintendent Jorge Silva-Bañuelos.
