2014 compared to 2009
The climate surrounding mourning dove hunting is much more favorable in 2014 than it was prior to 2009 for a number of reasons.
One difference is the establishment of NY Dove Hunting. For the first time, an organization is working to organize mourning dove hunters and address mourning dove hunting as its singular purpose. We have reached an unknown number of sportsmen and organized over 300 of them. NY Dove Hunting has five online presences providing sportsmen and policy-makers with up-to-date and relevant information about mourning dove hunting, legislation, and conservation. We also launched our first-online petition defending the DEC’s authority to manage mute swans according to BMPs (Best Management Practices). We gained much insight during this first attempt and expect future petitions to be much more successful.
In 2009 NY DEC began a five year banding effort with the federal mourning dove banding project.
In August 2010 the DEC Chief of Wildlife retired after 24 years with the DEC, ten of those years as chief. During his career, he was outspoken about his pessimism regarding the popularity of small game hunting in NY and went as far to say that he can count on one hand the number of persons interested in a dove season in NY. These statements, were published in hunting magazines read by NY sportsmen; and although totally incorrect, have undoubtedly influenced many hunters.
During October 2010 a new chief of wildlife was hired and we are looking forward to working with Gordon Batcheller, who received one of his wildlife biology degrees from the University of Oklahoma, right in the heart of dove hunting country.
In 2011, forty-five individual sportsmen’s organizations submitted letters in support of mourning dove hunting. The NY Conservation Council passed a resolution to seek a mourning dove season. The Conservation Fund Advisory Board indicated in a memo that it was working on a mourning dove management plan.
Also in 2011, the state of Iowa legalized mourning dove hunting. In 2012, the state of New Jersey reclassified the mourning dove as a game species, paving the way to eventually open up dove hunting. With mourning dove hunting legal in 41 states besides Alaska which has very few doves, Native American reservations, and the US Territory of Puerto Rico; the noose is closing on the HSUS’s “National Initiative to Block or Ban Mourning Dove Hunting!"
In 2014, the Farm Bill is expanded an additional $8 million dollars for the singular purpose of establishing bee habitat. Bee habitat will offer co-benefits to doves and dove hunters!
Also in 2014, Eurasian collared doves, white-winged doves, and African collared doves / ringed turtle doves have been observed in New York, which is consistent with the reported spreading of these species in other states. Although the white-winged dove is native to some regions of the US, but not the northeast; the Eurasian collared dove and the African collared doves / ringed turtle doves are not native to this continent and might be declared invasive at some point. Without out a game bird classification or an unprotected wildlife classification, the DEC will not have authority to manage these species and would require “approval” from state lawmakers. We assume that the DEC has learned from the recent blocking of its mute swan management plan and is therefore eager to avoid this legal dilemma in the future if non-native doves become an issue. It would not be practical or necessary in any way to allow the taking of very similar exotic doves while prohibiting the taking of mourning doves. To make a long story short, the invasion of exotic doves bodes for establishing a mourning dove hunting season.