Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Notebook — Nov. 17

AJ Larrañaga is a junior at Las Vegas Robertson High School.

He’s concerned that the use of state lands by hunters is becoming a thing of the past.

Here’s a snippet from a letter he’s written:

“One of our oldest traditions, using our state’s vast lands to harvest food for our families, is at risk of ending, thanks to a proposed five-fold lease renewal increase ... to allow hunters in New Mexico to access state lands.

“This lease was recently increased from $200,000 to $1 million.

“A five-fold increase in one year is a slap in the face to the people who access these lands. Unfortunately, it appears to be pushing the Department of Game and Fish and the State Game Commission into a corner. The unsettling reality is that if we don’t fork over the money for the increase, we don’t get to hunt on state trust lands.”

Larrañaga is asking New Mexicans express concerns at the Game Commission meeting scheduled Thursday in Roswell.

“... Voice your support for a fair compromise that allows us to continue to access the lands handed down to us,” he writes.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. Thursday at the New Mexico Military Institute Pearson Auditorium, 101 W. College Boulevard.

— Notebook was compiled by Editor David Stevens. Contact him at: dstevens@pntonline.com or find him on Facebook.