On Tuesday, May 24 at 1:00 p.m., the Natural Resources Commission of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is scheduled to discuss the proposed rules for the mourning dove hunting season. This is the next step in the legislative approval process for the rules proposed by the Natural Resources Commission. Do not let the anti-hunting forces inject their politics and emotion into the formulation of the mourning dove hunting season. It is important that we make our voices heard and ensure that science drives the process of establishing the mourning dove hunting season.
Under the rules currently proposed by the Natural Resources Commission, the season would begin on September 1 and last for 70 days. There would be a daily bag limit of 15 birds, with a possession limit of 30 mourning doves. This season does not include the Eurasian collard doves or white wing doves.
The time has finally come that Iowa’s hunters are afforded the same hunting opportunities as hunters in all six of its border states. Mourning doves are among the most abundant bird species in America and Iowa has some of the highest reported densities on the national Breeding Bird Survey. Because of dove hunting, millions of additional dollars will now go to fund wildlife and habitat conservation in Iowa and thousands of new hunters will be recruited to the state’s fields and forests.
Please attend the hearing and voice your support for the proposed 70-day dove hunting season in its current form. The meeting will be held in the fourth floor west conference room, Wallace Building in Des Moines. If you cannot attend the meeting please e-mail your comments to [email protected], call (515) 281-5034, or by fax at (515) 281-6794.
Natural Resource Commission Meeting
Tuesday, May 24, 1:00 pm
4th Floor West Conference Room
Wallace Building
502 East Ninth Street
Des Moines, IA 50319