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REcreation OPENING UP In June, it's expected that federal wildlife officials will allow more liberal guidelines for what has been long-standing regulations on dove hunting Change could be in air for Texas this fall

By By SHANNON TOMPKINS
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Thu 04/09/2009
Section: Sports
Page: 8
Edition: 3 STAR R.O.

Texas' half-million or so wingshooters could see substantially liberalized dove-hunting rules - a longer season, larger bag limit, earlier opening day in the South Zone - if federal wildlife officials give anticipated approval to modifications in regulatory frameworks governing migratory game-bird hunting.

If the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's regulations committee adopts the changes during its June meeting, Texas will this autumn see a statewide, 70-day dove season with a 15-dove daily bag limit.

Since 1983, federal dove-season frameworks allowed Texas to chose between a 60-day dove season with a 15-dove bag limit or a 70-day season with a 12-dove limit for each of its three dove zones: North, Central, South.

Also, federal regulators have indicated they will approve framework changes that would allow Texas to open the regular autumn dove season in the state's South Dove Zone as early as Sept. 17, a change from the longtime federal prohibition on opening the South Zone dove season before Sept. 20. This seemingly minor change could have a large impact on dove-hunting participation in the dove-rich region hugely popular with the state's 350,000-plus dove hunters.

For more than a decade, Texas officials have had a policy of setting the zone's opening day for the first Friday following Sept. 20 unless Sept. 20 falls on a Friday or Saturday.

Delaying the opening until a Friday is seen as a way to improve hunter participation and provide better hunting success. Generally, the first few days of dove season generate the highest participation and see the highest hunter-success rates. A Friday opening gives dove hunters a "long weekend" for the opener, and many South Zone dove hunters plan their hunts (and vacation days) around those dates.

Bad date

But some years, the first Friday following Sept. 20 falls several days after the 20th. This year, the date falls on Sept. 25. Delaying the opening that long frustrates hunters and outfitters who believe the region begins losing doves to southern migration before the season opens, particularly if the area sees an early cool front. Also, delaying the opening increases chances a hurricane or tropical storm could swamp the area with rain and cause many doves to leave the area.

The federal prohibition on opening the South Zone dove season before Sept. 20 was aimed at giving late-nesting mourning and white-winged doves enough time to fledge their squabs before hunting season began.

Recent data indicates fewer than 11 percent of doves in the South Zone are hatched after Sept. 1. Young doves are able to leave the nest 12-14 days after hatching.

This past month, at the request of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staff, the Central Flyway Council recommended the Fish and Wildlife Service approve regulation framework changes allowing Texas to open its South Zone dove season on the Friday closest to Sept. 20, but not earlier than Sept. 17.

Federal officials have indicated they will approve the request, Corey Mason, TPWD dove program leader, told the TPW Commission's regulations committee at the group's March 25 meeting.

Anticipating that approval, TPWD is proposing a Friday, Sept. 18 opening for the 2009-10 South Zone dove season.

The agency proposed opening the North and Central dove zones on Sept. 1, the earliest date allowed under the federal Migratory Bird Act Treaty.

Other considerations

At its June meeting, the federal regulations committee is expected to also adopt a policy using Adaptive Harvest Management to set dove-hunting regulations. Similar to AHM protocols used to set duck seasons, federal managers will annually evaluate dove population status and harvest rates and determine which of three hunting-regulation packages - liberal, moderate, restrictive - will be used for the coming season.

Under the proposed AHM protocols for the Central Management Unit (CMU), in which Texas falls, dove-season length under all three packages would run 70 days. But the daily bag limit of doves under the "liberal" package would be 22 birds; 15 doves in the "moderate" package and eight doves if AHM models recommended "restrictive" bag limits.

Plans are for the "moderate" dove package - 70-day season, 15-dove daily bag limit - to be used in the CMU this autumn and remain in place for at least three straight seasons, Mason told the TPW Commission.

More changes in regulations could be in the works. State wildlife managers are working to convince federal authorities to allow Texas to change some of the long-running rules governing dove hunting in the Special Whitewing Dove Area.

Under discussion is a proposal to allow all-day hunting during the four-day dove season the first two weekends in September in the whitewing area. Currently, hunting is allowed only in the afternoon during the four-day season.

Also, Texas officials are pushing to modify the 12-dove (no more than four mourning doves) bag limit during the four-day season in the Special Whitewing Dove Area to a 15-dove limit.

The fate of those proposals may be determined at the June meeting.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission and the agency's executive director will make final determinations on Texas 2009-10 dove seasons in July, following the federal adoption of regulatory frameworks that states must use when setting hunting rules for migratory birds.

WINGS AND MORE

Proposed 2009-10 dove-hunting seasons in Texas:

North Zone: Sept. 1-Oct. 25, Dec. 26-Jan. 9.

Central Zone: Sept. 1- Oct. 25, Dec. 26- Jan. 9.

South Zone: Sept. 18- Nov. 3, Dec. 26-Jan. 17.

Daily bag limit: 15 doves in the aggregate; no more than two white-tipped doves.

Shooting hours: Thirty minutes before sunrise to sunset.

Special Whitewing Dove Area: Sept. 5-6 and 12-13; Sept. 18- Nov. 3; Dec. 26-Jan. 13.

Daily bag limit: Sept. 5-6 and 12-13: Twelve doves per day, no more than four mourning doves and two white-tipped doves. Remainder of season, 15 doves per day in the aggregate; no more than two white-tipped doves.

Shooting hours: Sept. 5-6 and 12-13, noon to sunset. Remainder of season, 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset.

South Dove Zone boundary, teal proposals

Moving two counties from the Special Whitewing Dove Area to the South Dove Zone and suggestions for hunting-season dates for teal and other early-season game birds were part of the package of rule changes Texas wildlife managers proposed for the coming hunting season.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials propose moving the portions of Jim Hogg and Starr counties in South Texas from their current placement in the Special Whitewing Dove Area to the South Dove Zone.

The change is justified because habitat in the affected area is more conducive to mourning doves than white-winged doves, TPWD staff said.

The boundary adjustment requires approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

If May surveys on northern nesting grounds estimate the breeding population of blue-winged teal is 4.7 million or more, federal guidelines will offer Texas a 16-day tea-only hunting season to be held in September.

If the bluewing population index is below 4.7 million, a nine-day teal-only season will be offered.

If a 16-day teal season is authorized, TPWD proposes holding the season Sept. 12-27. If a nine-day season is allowed, season dates would be Sept. 19-27.

Proposed dates for snipe season are Oct. 31-Feb. 14; woodcock, Dec. 18-Jan. 31; gallinule and rail, Sept. 12-27 and Oct. 31-Dec. 23.

Public comments on all early-season migratory bird-hunting proposals can be submitted through the TPWD Web site (www.tpwd.state.tx.us), or by writing TPWD Public Comment, attn. Corey Mason, 4200 Smith School Rd., Austin, TX 78744, or via e-mail to corey.mason@tpwd.state.tx.us.