New Mexico Closes Bear Zone 14 After 13 of 19 Bears Taken, Seven Zones Shut

New Mexico closed Bear Management Zone 14 to hunting on Nov. 3, 2026, the seventh of the state’s 13 bear zones shut this season on a harvest limit, the Department of Wildlife said in a notice posted Nov. 4. Zone 14 covers Game Management Unit 14 and carried a sustainable harvest limit of 19 bears, 7 of them female. Hunters had taken 13 bears, 6 of them female, as of Nov. 3, according to the department’s harvest limit update of the same date.

A zone closes when the harvest reaches 90 percent of its total limit or 90 percent of its female limit, whichever comes first, and the department says the margin accounts for the time between a kill and its report. Zone 14 closed on its female limit with no females left before closure. Its rifle season ran Oct. 15 through Nov. 15 under the 2026-27 hunting rules, so the closure cut 12 days from the schedule.

Zones 1, 2, 3, 9, 10 and 12 closed earlier: Zone 12 on Aug. 23, Zone 9 on Aug. 28, Zone 3 on Sept. 8, Zone 2 on Sept. 15, Zone 10 on Oct. 9 and Zone 1 on Oct. 16. Zone 10, which spans units 12, 13, 15 through 18, 20 through 24, 26 and 27, recorded the largest harvest at 221 bears against a limit of 197. Zone 1, units 4 through 7, 51 and 52, closed with 131 bears taken, 61 of them female, against limits of 168 and 67.

Statewide, hunters had taken 681 bears, 278 of them female, against limits of 862 and 332 as of Nov. 3.

Six zones remain open: 4, 5, 6, 8, 11 and 13. Zone 5, units 54, 55 and 57, has the most room, with 41 bears and 19 females left before closure, and Zone 4, units 45, 46 and 48, has 35 bears but only 5 females. Zone 11, units 37 and 38, has 18 bears and 5 females left, Zone 6 has 10 bears and 4 females, Zone 8 has 6 bears and 2 females, and Zone 13, unit 36, has 2 bears and 1 female. The department reduced the female limit for Zone 4 and both limits for Zone 8 for the 2026-27 season.

Before hunting, hunters must verify that a zone is open on the department’s bear page or by calling the Bear and Cougar Closure and Harvest Hotline at 877-950-5466. A bear license must be bought at least two calendar days before hunting, the bag limit is one bear, and no cub under a year old or female with cubs may be taken.

The open seasons in Zones 5, 6 and 8 close Nov. 15, 2026, and those in Zones 4, 11 and 13 close Nov. 30, unless a harvest limit closes a zone first. The department updates the harvest chart as reports come in.