Dear Dead Shot readers, outdoors readers and enthusiasts: Thank you again for your calls, letters and emails regarding the dove season. As you well realize, we began doing articles on the dove season back in August of 2010 and continued up through this last month. I am glad to say that you readers were the first people to get involved in the advocacy of a dove season here in Iowa, which subsequently was passed by the Senate, the House, signed by the Governor and is law at this time. As of this date, Iowa joins the ranks of over 40 states that have a dove hunting season. Some of the states that do not have a dove hunting season at this time are Michigan, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Subsequent to our promoting a dove season in Iowa, the Iowa Conservation Alliance and the Warren County Izaak Walton League helped us promote the dove season. We have been attempting to obtain a dove season since 1991 at which time it went through the House and Senate but Governor Vilsack refused to sign it and so it was automatically vetoed. You should be advised that there are people who are against having a dove hunting season and are bird watchers. If you’ll check the records, none of those people probably have obtained a hunting license or a habitat stamp to help the wild life in Iowa.
Please don’t be worried about extermination of doves due to the fact that the hunters now will take care of them. In the past, there were no deer in Iowa, no geese or turkeys due to being primarily extinct. You should be advised that hunters brought them back and are supporting them now. Any animal that the hunters hunt are helped by the hunters and not by bird watchers that are anti-dove people. Because of the hunters, we now have plenty of deer, turkey, Canada geese and water fowl; the same would be true with doves.
I am receiving friendly letters, phone calls and emails regarding why we don’t have pheasants pursuant to the survey last month. You should be advised that so far, that it’s a farm chemical problem and the price of land is too expensive to promote pheasant hunting. It is my belief that we’ll never have enough pheasants in Iowa due to factors of farm management. You can’t blame the farmers since the price of corn, price of beans, price of hogs and cattle, and the price of farmland are too high to support a pheasant or quail season. It’[s been my experience that that small farmer may still promote pheasant hunting on his farm in an isolated spot and predominantly more in western Iowa. As my survey comes back, I’ll explain a little more in detail.
Presently there is a group of non-hunters and anti-hunting people who are against lead and are trying to bar it through the state.
Again, I want to thank all you readers and supports of the great outdoors that’ve started this campaign for a dove season back in August. We are now going to have a dove season in 2011, perhaps around September 1st through the 15th throughout the state. This season has to be set by the DNR Commission, who will meet very soon to determine this factor. It is my understanding there are several members of the Conservation Commission who are anti-dove hunters and are trying to promote anti-dove hunting.
