When you live in Boyertown, Pa., the big sky and wide open spaces of New Mexico beckon, even in a bad economy.
“We would work hard and find a way,” Darryl Crabel, a paving and excavating contractor, said. “The sky’s so big here the stars touch the ground. In Pennsylvania, look up in the sky and all you see is an orange glow.”
Crabel traveled to Lindrith earlier this year to hunt elk during archery season, and he was back hunting for mule deer Nov. 6 with his two sons, Cody and Clint. They booked their trip with Twins Outfitters, in Lindrith. It was the Crabels’ fourth time hunting with Twins, which is run by twin brothers Larry and Garry Nelson.
The Nelson brothers have been outfitting hunters for 10 years and guiding even longer. They are the twin sons of Larry and Ella Nelson, who own an 800-acre ranch in Lindrith. The brothers guide hunting parties from across the United States throughout the fall, headquartering at their parents’ ranch. They hunt on that ranch and others that they lease in the area.
“It’s a lot different than home,” Cody Crabel, 19, said.
Cody Crabel was the first in his family to bag a buck — he killed a handsome four-by-four mule deer Nov. 4. Darryl bagged another four-by four Nov. 6 with a long shot.
“It was a 500-yard shot,” he said. “It took the whole team working together to find him.”
Also in the hunting party were Dave Mills, from Michigan, and Richard Pond and Chris McGuinnes, from Illinois. All were returning Twins customers.
Mills, McGuinnes and Pond were on a combination hunt for both elk and mule deer. Pond bagged a mule deer buck, but McGuinnes and Gibson had yet to take a trophy.
Twins charges $6,000 per person for a combo hunt, $4,500 for a bull-elk-only hunt and $4,500 for a mule-deer-only hunt.
“It brings a lot of income into this community,” Larry Nelson said.
Currently there are 273 licensed outfitters registered with the state Game and Fish Department, and at least 14 of those have addresses in Rio Arriba County. Outfitters are required to carry commercial liability insurance and pass a state exam.
There are also 1,312 registered guides in New Mexico, many of them from Rio Arriba County. Guides must also pass the examination. All guides must work for an outfitter, according to the Department.
Economic Impact
Private landowners in New Mexico are issued a certain number of elk permits by the state Game and Fish Department; the total number of permits is based on the health of the herd.
The Nelson brothers purchase those landowner elk permits from ranch owners, including their parents, normally for $1,500.
The price of the permit is included in the cost of the hunt, as well as room and board and guide services. There are normally two hunters for each guide.
Hunting deer with an outfitter is a bit trickier. Would-be hunters must obtain a deer permit through a public drawing, which means there are no guarantees. On Unit 5A, which encompasses the Lindrith area, 220 private-land deer permits are offered annually. Hunters wishing to use private land must also obtain written permission from the landowner.
Of course, landowners do not have to sell their permits to outfitters or nonresidents. Some landowners reserve some of their permits for family members or friends.
“A lot of landowners keep the permits within the family and use them to put food on the table,” Alfredo Montoya, Rio Arriba County Commission chairman and member of the state Game Commission, said. “The overall benefits of being blessed with this resource (hunting) far outweigh the negative.”
In 2006, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a state-by-state survey of the economic impact of hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing. In New Mexico, roughly 99,000 hunters — including both residents and nonresidents — spent $164 million on hunting-related expenses.
Resident hunters accounted for two-thirds of that, or $109 million of the total. But the lucrative outfitted hunts are mostly booked by hunters from outside New Mexico.
Lee Weiss, of the Fishtail Ranch near Chama, offers private-land bull elk rifle hunts for $6,500 and is typically booked up by February. The Chama area is known throughout the country for its trophy hunting.
“Pick a state and we’ve (had hunters from there),” Weiss said. “They come from everywhere.”
Weiss estimates that he hosts about 50 hunters during the season, which stretches from September to Christmas.
The Department receives its own windfall from out-of-state hunters. Although the cost of the elk permit is included in the cost of the trip, hunters must purchase a hunting license separately. A bull elk license costs $543 for a standard hunt and $768 for a quality hunt.
Deer licenses cost nonresidents $270 for a standard hunt and $355 for a quality hunt. By contrast, New Mexico residents pay just $39 for either type of deer hunt.
Department spokesman Dan Williams said most outfitted hunts are held on units that offer quality hunts. Quality hunts are on those big game units where there exists a high demand for licenses and hold a high number of trophy animals.
Chama Elk
Outfitted elk hunts are big business in the Chama area, with outfitters charging hefty fees for guided hunts on private land. Bob DeLaHunt, president of the Chama Valley Chamber of Commerce, said elk hunting brings a big economic boost to the Chama area.
“I’m sure it’s in the millions of dollars,” DeLaHunt said. “Each dollar the hunter spends turns over five to seven times. It’s a tremendous cash cow.”
One of the largest ranches in the area, Chama Land and Cattle, belongs to the Jicarilla Apache Nation. Guided hunts on Jicarilla lands can cost over $10,000 and are normally booked years in advance. Although much of the money goes to the Jicarilla tribe, headquartered in Dulce, this operation still adds substantially to the Chama Valley’s economy, DeLaHunt said.
“The guides they hire are local and their employees are local, so they make a sizeable contribution,” DeLaHunt said.
Chama River Outfitters, Fishtail Ranch and Milligan Brand Outfitting offer fall archery and rifle hunts for deer and elk on private ranches in the Chama area.
“Archery hunts are cheaper ($3,500-$4,500) because the odds of taking an animal are lower,” Bob Ball, of Chama River Outfitters, said. “Rifle hunts are $5,000 to $7,000, and we’re normally booked up a year in advance.”
Trophies
After a midday break for lunch and a beer, the Twins hunting party went back out in the afternoon. As Ella Nelson got ready to prepare steaks for their dinner, a call came in over the café radio. The sun had just gone down.
“Clint has one down, it looks like the best one of the trip,” a voice on the other end said. “We’ll be a little while.”
Clint Crabel did indeed have a deer, and his family had filled all their tags. By the end of the hunt Nov. 8, McGuinnes and Mills had both bagged elk. The group departed Nov. 9 and two more hunters came in for the next round.
When a hunter makes a kill, Larry and Garry field dress the animal and bring it back to the ranch, where there is a walk-in cooler to hang the carcass.
“After we cape it out, we roll it, salt it and freeze it,” Larry Nelson said. “We then ship it to the taxidermist that the hunter uses or take it to a local taxidermist.”
The meat is taken to Green Valley Meats in Albuquerque, which cuts it and ships it to the hunters. Hunters pay extra for the processing.
The meat isn’t the only reward. It’s also the chance to spend time with family that keeps the Crabels coming back to Lindrith.
“This is the best time of my life to go hunting with my sons,” Darryl Crabel said.