Below is a news release from the National Park Service.
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.
“Valles Caldera offers a truly one-of-a-kind hunting experience. 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.
While Valles Caldera is the only national park unit in the state where hunting is authorized, it is just one of 66 park units across the country that permits recreational hunting. Over 51 million acres managed by the National Park Service are open to hunting at various times during the year, representing approximately 60% of the total acreage of the National Park System.
Learn more about hunting in Valles Caldera at https://www.nps.gov/vall/planyourvisit/hunting.htm. For information about hunting in New Mexico, visit https://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/hunting/.
(Photo credit: National Park Service)