Governor appoints former state senator from Jal as new game commissioner
Gregg Fulfer’s background includes oil and ranching
Former New Mexico senator, Jal cattle rancher and oilman Gregg Fulfer is the newest state game commissioner.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s latest commission appointment was announced at a June 17 meeting in Santa Fe.
The former Lea County commissioner also served on the state Environmental Improvement Board for eight years.
Fulfer runs Fulfer Oil and Cattle Co. in Jal and Delaware Water Co.
“Water is one of my favorite topics,” he said. “We’re cleaning about 1 million and a half gallons a day of produced water and reusing it for the fracking and drilling operations.”
Fulfer received an electrical engineering degree from
New Mexico State University.
As a Republican state legislator representing a corner of southeast New Mexico from 2018 to 2020, he supported a law that made it easier for surveyors and engineers licensed in Texas or New Mexico to work in either state.
Fulfer helped secure road repairs for an oil field highway in his district and supported a forest and watershed restoration law.
“I’m learning a lot right now, but hunting and fishing have always been one of my big interests,” Fulfer said. “It’s important to create growth of that industry and protect hunting, fishing and wildlife.”
The commissioner said he enjoys flyfishing at a family lodge in Colorado just north of Chama.
“Ranching is a big part of my life,” he said. “We raise beef cattle, and do a lot of taking care of the country here for birds and quail.”
Fulfer voted against a law that funded Game and Fish to work with the Transportation Department on a wildlife corridors action plan.
He also voted against a wildlife trafficking law and a law that banned coyote-killing contests.
The seven-member Game Commission
now has two vacancies.
The board sets state hunting and fishing rules and oversees the Department of Game and Fish’s budget.
In recent years, the commission has waded into issues like stream access and elk hunting licenses for residents and out-of-state landowners.
Fellow commissioner Deanna Archuleta said Fulfer is a “delightful individual who really gets things done.”
Other game commissioners are:
Sharon Salazar Hickey, former Los Alamos National Laboratory employee, appointed 2020
Roberta Salazar-Henry, former Game and Fish employee, appointed 2019
Tirzio Lopez, Rio Arriba County farmer, appointed 2019
Deanna Archuleta, ExxonMobil senior director for federal relations, appointed February 2022
The commission’s next meeting is on July 22 at 9 a.m. in Ruidoso.