REGION IV
The dove situation is "status quo" in Region IV. David Brandenburg, a Region IV wildlife biologist, said dove hunting is stable and has remained essentially unchanged in recent years. That's not only the case here, but elsewhere as well. He said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2007 Mourning Dove Population Status report showed that the dove situation has been stable for the last 10 years across most of the country.

Brandenburg said he and others, including WMA managers across the state, start working on the fall dove hunts as early as April and May. They're busy preparing dove fields at WMAs and planting sunflower, wheat and millet way ahead of the game.

That early work pays off in the fall in the way of good dove shooting. Like the season prior, last year's public dove hunts were better at the Lick Creek Bottoms and Forks of the River WMAs than most. Chuck Swan and Buffalo Springs WMAs also had respectable hunts.

Nearly 1,200 doves were harvested on opening day at Lick Creek Bottoms alone. To be more precise, the South Mohawk Field at Lick Creek Bottoms saw 120 hunters harvest 1,004 birds, while 113 hunters took 156 doves at the Fox Gate Field, and an additional 27 doves were harvested at the Joachim Bible Refuge Field.

At the Forks of the River WMA, huge success was had in back-to-back seasons. Like the prior year, the 2007 dove hunts featured the addition of power poles in the field -- complete with fake power lines -- and these features continued to attract birds. The experiment was clearly still working last year: 150 hunters there on the opening day shoot harvested a total of 746 doves. Brandenburg said the TWRA is still contemplating the addition of fake power poles and power lines to other WMAs.

Brandenburg said hunters should expect few changes this fall in dove-hunting opportunities, and the agency plans to lease as many fields as possible. The one expectation he does look forward to seeing is more youth hunts on WMAs in the coming years in an effort to recruit more hunters.

Leased fields are key not only to hunter opportunity but also hunter success in Region IV. Although hunters need to check the TWRA Web site to find out which fields are going to be available this year, TWRA reports show that one of the hottest leased fields last year was the Baker Farm in Jefferson County, where 84 hunters took 801 doves on opening day. The Laymon Farm in Greene County also had a decent day, with 66 hunters taking 287 birds.

For hunters' benefits, Brandenburg said TWRA officers will start to look for viable shoots about two weeks to 10 days before the September opener. He said it's up to hunters to then get out and do their own scouting once a field has been designated for a shoot, if they want the best chance at success.

Brandenburg's last tip to hunters is that if you have property, then you can have a good dove shoot -- and it doesn't take more than a half-acre field. He said if you have seed on the ground from normal agricultural practices, you can draw doves to your spot. He said you can find more information on food plots and dove field preparation on the TWRA's Web site in the "Wildlife and Hunting" section under "Habitat Management."