This state's classification carries no date range for the species.
No hunting season anywhere in NM's 2026-27 upland game regulations.NM's eastern shortgrass/shinnery-oak population (the ESA 'Southern DPS') was listed Endangered under the Endangered Species Act in Nov 2022; that listing was vacated by a Texas federal court in Aug 2025 and USFWS formally rescinded ESA protection statewide/nationally on Feb 25, 2026 (under appeal by conservation groups as of this research date). Despite federal delisting, NM has not established a hunting season in this rules edition (2022 population estimate for eastern NM was only ~500 birds). 'Prairie Chicken WMAs/Areas' names in NM's rules book refer to historic habitat, not an active season.
New Mexico has no open hunting season for lesser prairie-chicken despite the species' February 2026 federal ESA delisting, but the range question still has a real, precisely documented answer: the eastern NM population is confined to shinnery-oak/sand-sagebrush grassland in the state's southeastern corner. A USDA/NMDGF habitat-restoration program (State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement) names its project area as exactly two counties, and an independent GIS habitat-analysis study extends the same core to two more, giving a well-corroborated four-county range description.
No standalone NM-specific survey; governed by WAFWA's range-wide Lesser Prairie-Chicken aerial survey (multi-state: KS/OK/TX/NM/CO). WAFWA's own document library lists no report edition newer than “2012-2022” (posted October 2022) despite a 2026 site copyright notice, but a January 27, 2026-dated survey-protocol PDF confirms the program itself remains active -- a publish lag, not a program lapse. NM has not opened a hunting season despite the species' February 2026 federal ESA delisting (2022 population estimate for eastern NM was only ~500 birds).
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