Linda G.
08-19-2003, 08:25 AM
Congrats to all Wisconsin hunters who helped to achieve this success-now, it's Michigan's turn!!! Don't forget to get hold of the Lansing State Journal before Thursday, and thank you for your support!!
http://www.jsonline.com/news/Metro/aug03/162571.asp
Request to delay dove hunt rejected
DNR starting 60-day season on Sept. 1
By KELLY WELLS
kwells@journalsentinel.com
Last Updated: Aug. 15, 2003
The state Supreme Court on Friday rejected an attempt to block the start of Wisconsin's first mourning dove hunting season, which means the season will begin Sept. 1.
Wisconsin Citizens Concerned for Cranes and Doves has filed a lawsuit seeking to ban the hunt and had asked for a temporary stay of the season pending the high court's ruling in the case.
A Dane County judge last year issued an injunction that halted the 2002 season, but it was lifted by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in March.
The Supreme Court, without comment, on Friday rejected the group's request, which means the state Department of Natural Resources is moving forward with plans for the 60-day hunt.
Pat Fisher, a co-founder of the opposition group, said she was surprised by and unhappy with the ruling.
"I cannot believe when there's a question of something being legal or not, they'd let this go through," she said. "It just makes me very sad. They're going to shoot doves, and that hurts."
But DNR upland wildlife ecologist Keith Warnke said he was pleased with the court's decision.
"We believe this is a good decision for conservation, and we're going to continue on with the planning for the dove hunt," he said.
The DNR says an estimated 5.2 million mourning doves migrate from Wisconsin annually, but slightly more than half die from disease, accidents, predators or other causes. Hunting will not deplete the bird population because of their high rate of reproduction, the agency said.
Hunters back decision
Gen Ebert of Wisconsin Dove Hunters called Friday's decision "fair and just."
"We have proven time and time again that there is more than a sufficient number of doves in the state," she said.
As far as the opposition's efforts to stop the hunt, Ebert said: "It's frivolous when it's proven that there are more than enough doves to go around. It has become almost ridiculous."
Friday's decision was the latest development in the 3-year-old battle over whether the mourning dove should be hunted.
The lawsuit filed by Wisconsin Citizens Concerned for Cranes and Doves challenges the DNR's authority to hold a hunt, arguing that the state Legislature never intended for the bird to be hunted. In 1971, the Legislature made the mourning dove - at the urging of those who oppose the hunt - the state's official bird of peace.
The state Supreme Court will revisit the issue during its next session, but it could be May or June before it rules, said Assistant Attorney General Philip Peterson, who represents the DNR in the legal challenge.
John Wieneke, co-founder of the opposition group, said he is against the hunt mainly because of "the misrepresentation that the (DNR) gave the Natural Resources Board and the Legislature on the biological aspects of the species."
The birds migrate earlier in the year than the DNR said and would be raising babies during the hunting season, Wieneke said. Both mother and father are needed to feed baby mourning doves, so if even one parent were killed, the fledglings would also likely die, he said.
"I don't think it's a good idea to be hunting a species while it's nesting," he said. "It's time to get back to good wildlife policy and good decisions."
During the hunting season, hunters will be allowed to bag 15 birds a day and may possess up to 30 at any time. All hunters must have a valid small game license.
Warnke said the DNR estimates that between 20,000 and 30,000 people will take part in the hunt, based on predictions from waterfowl hunters in Wisconsin and other states. Wisconsin is the 40th state to allow hunting of mourning doves.
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http://www.jsonline.com/news/Metro/aug03/162571.asp
Request to delay dove hunt rejected
DNR starting 60-day season on Sept. 1
By KELLY WELLS
kwells@journalsentinel.com
Last Updated: Aug. 15, 2003
The state Supreme Court on Friday rejected an attempt to block the start of Wisconsin's first mourning dove hunting season, which means the season will begin Sept. 1.
Wisconsin Citizens Concerned for Cranes and Doves has filed a lawsuit seeking to ban the hunt and had asked for a temporary stay of the season pending the high court's ruling in the case.
A Dane County judge last year issued an injunction that halted the 2002 season, but it was lifted by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in March.
The Supreme Court, without comment, on Friday rejected the group's request, which means the state Department of Natural Resources is moving forward with plans for the 60-day hunt.
Pat Fisher, a co-founder of the opposition group, said she was surprised by and unhappy with the ruling.
"I cannot believe when there's a question of something being legal or not, they'd let this go through," she said. "It just makes me very sad. They're going to shoot doves, and that hurts."
But DNR upland wildlife ecologist Keith Warnke said he was pleased with the court's decision.
"We believe this is a good decision for conservation, and we're going to continue on with the planning for the dove hunt," he said.
The DNR says an estimated 5.2 million mourning doves migrate from Wisconsin annually, but slightly more than half die from disease, accidents, predators or other causes. Hunting will not deplete the bird population because of their high rate of reproduction, the agency said.
Hunters back decision
Gen Ebert of Wisconsin Dove Hunters called Friday's decision "fair and just."
"We have proven time and time again that there is more than a sufficient number of doves in the state," she said.
As far as the opposition's efforts to stop the hunt, Ebert said: "It's frivolous when it's proven that there are more than enough doves to go around. It has become almost ridiculous."
Friday's decision was the latest development in the 3-year-old battle over whether the mourning dove should be hunted.
The lawsuit filed by Wisconsin Citizens Concerned for Cranes and Doves challenges the DNR's authority to hold a hunt, arguing that the state Legislature never intended for the bird to be hunted. In 1971, the Legislature made the mourning dove - at the urging of those who oppose the hunt - the state's official bird of peace.
The state Supreme Court will revisit the issue during its next session, but it could be May or June before it rules, said Assistant Attorney General Philip Peterson, who represents the DNR in the legal challenge.
John Wieneke, co-founder of the opposition group, said he is against the hunt mainly because of "the misrepresentation that the (DNR) gave the Natural Resources Board and the Legislature on the biological aspects of the species."
The birds migrate earlier in the year than the DNR said and would be raising babies during the hunting season, Wieneke said. Both mother and father are needed to feed baby mourning doves, so if even one parent were killed, the fledglings would also likely die, he said.
"I don't think it's a good idea to be hunting a species while it's nesting," he said. "It's time to get back to good wildlife policy and good decisions."
During the hunting season, hunters will be allowed to bag 15 birds a day and may possess up to 30 at any time. All hunters must have a valid small game license.
Warnke said the DNR estimates that between 20,000 and 30,000 people will take part in the hunt, based on predictions from waterfowl hunters in Wisconsin and other states. Wisconsin is the 40th state to allow hunting of mourning doves.
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