New Mexico Unit 30: public land, hunts and harvest
Game Management Unit 30 covers 1,883,412 acres (2,943 square miles) of Southeast New Mexico; 75.4% of it is public land, the largest share BLM (865,475 acres), by the BLM's New Mexico land status map (2026). NMDOW's 2026-27 booklet lists 4 elk, 6 deer, 1 pronghorn and 8 Barbary sheep hunt codes valid here, with 3,530 draw licenses. NMDGF's 2025-26 totals for Unit 30, which count public and private-land hunters, show 426 deer taken.
Data updated October 2026. Hunts: NMDOW's 2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information. Harvest: NMDGF reports to 2025-26. Land: BLM New Mexico, 2026-10.
National forestBLMState trust landBureau of ReclamationState parkNational Park ServiceMilitary landUnit 30Neighboring unitsLake or riverHighway
| Quadrant | Southeast New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Size | 1,883,412 acres (2,943 square miles) |
| Public land | 75.4% (1,420,629 acres) |
| Elk hunt codes, 2026-27 | 4 (90 draw licenses) |
| Deer hunt codes, 2026-27 | 6 (2,315 draw licenses) |
| Pronghorn hunt codes, 2026-27 | 1 (25 draw licenses) |
| Barbary Sheep hunt codes, 2026-27 | 8 (1,100 draw licenses) |
| Towns in and near it | Carlsbad, Happy Valley, Whites City, Hope, Artesia and Loving |
How much public land is in Unit 30?
75.4% of Unit 30 is public land open to hunting under its manager's rules: 1,420,629 of 1,883,412 acres. The largest share is BLM, 865,475 acres or 46% of the unit.
| Manager | Acres | Share of Unit 30 |
|---|---|---|
| BLM | 865,475 | 46% |
| National forest | 283,815 | 15.1% |
| State trust land | 270,032 | 14.3% |
| National Park Service | 46,129 | 2.4% |
| State park | 1,593 | 0.1% |
| Bureau of Reclamation | 1,307 | 0.1% |
| Military land | 721 | under 0.1% |
Measured by FilledTag inside NMDOW's unit boundary from the BLM New Mexico surface management agency map (read 2026-10). Land not listed is private or unmapped. Many state trust land sections touch no public road. NMDOW requires a Habitat Stamp on national forest and BLM land (2026-27 booklet, page 14). National Park Service land is not counted as public here: it is closed to hunting.
What can you hunt in Unit 30?
19 hunt codes in NMDOW's 2026-27 booklet are valid in Unit 30. Some cover neighboring units too; each species page lists them all with their recent results.
| Species | Hunt codes | Draw licenses | Season span, 2026-27 | Harvest, newest NMDGF unit total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk (Units 29 and 30) | 4 | 90 | Sep 1 to Oct 14 | with other units |
| Deer | 6 | 2,315 | Sep 1 to Jan 15 | 426 (2025-26) |
| Pronghorn | 1 | 25 | Aug 15 to Aug 23 | 2 (2025-26) |
| Barbary Sheep (Units 29 and 30) | 8 | 1,100 | Oct 10 to Feb 27 | with other units |
Hunt codes valid here that are on no species area page: ANT-2-159 (pronghorn, Unit 30).
Hunts: NMDOW 2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information, pages 62 to 112. Harvest: NMDOW elk harvest reports, NMDOW deer harvest reports, NMDOW pronghorn harvest reports and NMDOW Barbary sheep harvest reports; "with other units" means NMDGF prints this unit's total together with other units.
How do you get to Unit 30?
Highways through the unit: NM 137 (about 55 miles inside it), US 285 (about 43 miles inside it), US 82 (about 31 miles inside it), US 180 (about 11 miles inside it) and US 62 (about 11 miles inside it). Towns and places inside: Carlsbad, Happy Valley and Whites City. Nearby: Hope (on the line), Artesia (on the line), Loving (10 miles) and Lake Arthur (11 miles).
Which units border Unit 30?
Unit 30 touches 5 other units. Their size, public land and 2026-27 hunt codes, for comparison:
| Unit | Square miles | Public land | Elk codes | Deer codes | Pronghorn codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 29 | 1,182 | 84% | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Unit 31 | 8,347 | 48.4% | 5 | 12 | |
| Unit 32 | 6,075 | 33.4% | 7 | 12 | |
| Unit 33 | 2,272 | 57.9% | 7 | 6 | |
| Unit 34 | 1,696 | 67.5% | 14 | 7 |
Questions hunters ask
How much public land is in Unit 30?
75.4% of Unit 30, 1,420,629 of its 1,883,412 acres, is national forest, BLM, state trust, Commission, refuge or Reclamation land, measured by FilledTag from the BLM's New Mexico land status map. The largest share is BLM (865,475 acres).
What can you hunt in Unit 30?
NMDOW's 2026-27 Hunting Rules and Information lists 4 elk, 6 deer, 1 pronghorn and 8 Barbary sheep hunt codes valid in Unit 30. 19 of them are drawn hunts with 3,530 licenses in all.
What is the closest town to Unit 30?
Carlsbad, Happy Valley and Whites City are inside the unit. Just outside: Hope (on the line), Artesia (on the line) and Loving (10 miles).
New Mexico hunting Southeast New Mexico Elk Deer Pronghorn Barbary Sheep Unit 29 Unit 31 Unit 32 Unit 33 Unit 34