Generations of Hunters and the Growing Barriers We Face

By Leo Valdez, hunter and HECHO Hispanic Conservation Leadership Council member from New Mexico.  

Hunting has been a significant part of my upbringing and continues to be an essential aspect of my life. From a very young age, my parents took me and my siblings hunting. While hunting primarily served as a means of subsistence to provide food for our families, it also allowed us to bond and have fun together. It’s a tradition I’ve proudly passed on to my own children. 

Over the years, I have hunted various species of game in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Alaska, as well as internationally in Mexico and as far away as Africa. I view hunting not only as a way of life and a sport but also as a vital conservation tool for wildlife management. If game populations are not properly managed, they can become overpopulated, leading to imbalances in the ecosystem. Responsible hunters play an important role in controlling species overpopulation and maintaining this balance. 

Hunters are not only stewards of the land, we’re also major contributors to local economies through license fees, gear, lodging, food, and travel.   

Unfortunately, I’ve witnessed firsthand how access to hunting lands has been shrinking. Public lands are increasingly fenced off or restricted, whether by private development or tenants leasing federal and state lands, such as ranchers or extractive industries. Many of us have come across locked gates and fences on lands that are meant to be accessible to all Americans, which limits our access to game populations on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, national forests, and other publicly owned properties. 

It is frustrating and disheartening that some of my family’s hunting trips have turned into unnecessary confrontations with tenants who believe public lands belong solely to them. While I respect the concerns of ranchers, especially those related to protecting livestock, that doesn’t justify blocking ethical hunters from land that should be legally accessible. 

Most hunters I know are respectful, law-abiding, and conservation-minded. We follow regulations and understand the importance of coexisting with others who share these landscapes. If we need to provide identification, such as a driver’s license or hunting license, to cross leased land in order to reach federal or state lands or hunt in leased land where game populations are, we’re willing to do so. But it’s not acceptable for tenants to install gates or fences that completely block access to game populations and public lands. 

There should be mutual understanding and formal agreements in place, perhaps even lease clauses, that clearly state tenants must allow reasonable and legal public access to public lands. These lands were set aside for all of us, not just a few. 

Restricting access doesn’t just hurt hunters, it hurts conservation efforts, communities, and the shared legacy of our public lands. 

We need to protect our ability to access the lands that sustain our traditions, our wildlife, and our way of life. Public lands belong to the people and it’s time we ensure they stay that way.