New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Media contact: Dan Williams, (505) 476-8004
Public contact: (505) 476-8000
dan.williams@state.nm.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, OCT. 13, 2011:

GAME COMMISSION NAMES JIM LANE TO LEAD DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISH

ALBUQUERQUE – Jim Lane, chief of the Department of Game and Fish Wildlife Management Division, was selected as the agency’s new director Thursday by the State Game Commission.

Lane will be responsible for overseeing a department with more than 300 employees and an annual budget of more than $34 million. His duties will begin Oct. 29, continuing the pursuit of the Department’s mission to conserve, protect, enhance, manage and propagate the state’s wildlife and its habitat for public recreation and food supply.

Lane will replace current Director Tod Stevenson, who announced plans to retire this month after having worked 33 years with the Department, including three as director.

As chief of the Wildlife Management Division, Lane was is responsible for a staff of 17 and an annual budget of $4.1 million. His division is in charge of big-game, habitat enhancement, wild turkey, small game, migratory bird, furbearer, bear and cougar programs.

In three years with the Department, Lane has helped increase numbers of big-game licenses, improved communication within the agency and with sportsmen and landowners, established a four-year rule process to improve big-game and small-game management decisions, and initiated the process to delist endangered desert bighorn sheep. He previously worked with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources as an environmental scientist, wildlife division director, wildlife program coordinator and other positions. He holds a master’s degree in forestry from the University of Kentucky, and is a current member of the National Wild Turkey Federation and Ducks Unlimited.

Lane currently lives in Rio Rancho with his wife, Beth, of 19 years; and children Allison and Christian.

“I’m extremely humbled to have this incredible opportunity to lead an agency of extremely talented professionals dedicated to the hunters, anglers and wildlife of New Mexico,” Lane said. “I look forward to working with everyone with a passion for our state’s natural resources and the recreation opportunities they provide.”

The Commission interviewed four finalists for the position Thursday in executive session, and then selected Lane in public session. Other finalists included:

Dan Brooks, of Santa Fe. A 20-year employee with the Department of Game and Fish, he currently is chief of Law Enforcement, a position he has held for the past 10 years. He also has worked as a wildlife specialist, game warden and public information officer. Many people also know Brooks as the “Cast Iron Ranger,” for his appearances on the Department television show as an outdoor chef. A graduate of the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in renewable natural resources, he also serves as a legislative representative for the Department and as a certified Department of Public Safety law enforcement trainer. He previously worked for the Arizona Game and Fish Department as a wildlife biologist and for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as a range technician and biological aide. His research on Coues white-tailed deer led to publication of a book, “Coues White-tailed Deer in Arizona.”

Dale Hall, of Albuquerque has worked for the Department of Game and Fish for 22 years, the past 11 as coordinator of the Habitat Stamp Program and a $1 million annual budget for enhancing wildlife habitat on federal lands. He also has been coordinator of the Landowner-Sportsman Program, guide-outfitter registrar, Northwest Area fisheries manager and assistant Hunter Education coordinator. He previously worked as a wildlife manager for private ranches in Texas and Colorado, and as a big-game damage aide for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. He holds a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University and a master’s of agriculture degree in wildlife sciences from Texas A&M University.

Tim Frybarger, of Los Alamos, recently retired after 23 years with the Department of Game and Fish, including the past three as assistant chief of the Wildlife Management Division. He also worked as district wildlife supervisor in northwestern New Mexico, landowner-sportsman coordinator, guide-outfitter investigator, and district wildlife officer in Quemado. He holds a bachelor’s degree in wildlife science from New Mexico State University and is a member of the New Mexico Conservation Officers Association and the Wildlife Society.

Floyd Acord, of Oklahoma City, was the only out-of-state applicant for the position. He currently is a security guard. He previously worked as chief of police in Cedar Lake, Okla., and as an oil field worker. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and a master’s degree in education from southwestern Oklahoma State University.

NRA Victory in Battle with Environmental Groups Over Use of Lead Ammunition for Hunting in Arizona Strip

In a major legal victory, a federal judge ruled recently in favor of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and threw a lawsuit filed by the environmental group, Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) out of US District Court in Phoenix, Arizona. The case is Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, et al. Safari Club International had joined the case as a “friend of the court” and assisted NRA with its successful efforts.

CBD’s lawsuit, filed on January 27, 2009, alleged that the BLM and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) were illegally mismanaging federal lands in Arizona. The lawsuit challenged the allowance of off road vehicles, construction of roads, inadequate protection of desert tortoises, and inadequate protection of California condors. Among other things, the suit sought to force BLM to ban the use of lead ammunition for hunting in the Arizona Strip, a rugged area in the northwest corner of the state renowned for great hunting. CBD contended California condors in Arizona and elsewhere were being poisoned from scavenging game that was shot by hunters using lead shot or bullets. But the record plainly shows that California condors were reintroduced to this area of Arizona based on express promises by FWS and other agencies that the “reintroduction” would not impact hunting.

Among other things, the Court ruled that CBD had waived its claims concerning BLM’s failure to assess the alleged impact of lead ammunition on condors because “[i]t did not argue that BLM was required to include the potential effects of lead ammunition in [BLM’s] analysis of environmental impacts.”

Even before today’s ruling, NRA's intervention on behalf of its members in the case had already resulted in several legal victories. A January 13, 2010 court ruling granting NRA's motion to intervene was recently published in the official Federal Rules Decision Reporter. The Federal Rules Decisions Reporter is a compendium of selected United States District Court rulings that specifically interpret and apply the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure. Publication of this court ruling is important to hunters and NRA members because it sets legal precedent and confirms that there is "significantly protectable interest" in hunting that can justify intervention by hunter's rights groups like NRA in the increasing number of lawsuits filed by so-called environmental groups against state and federal natural resource, game and land management agencies.

Groups like CBD often file lawsuits alleging improper regulatory action or inaction in managing public lands and natural resources in attempting to advance their anti-hunting agenda. NRA has collected thousands of documents via public records act requests over the last two years on the lead ammunition issue. Many of these documents raise doubts about the veracity of claims that lead ammunition is poisoning condors. In fact, many documents obtained by NRA indicate that claim is based on faulty and intentionally misleading science.

To see key documents filed in this case, visit http://michellawyers.com/cbdvblm.