Final thoughts about hunters and conservation

This is a two-part column with final thoughts about hunters and conservation.

We have been discussing controlling game animal and bird populations throughout Washington State and the United States with the help of hunters.

Wild turkey

The Washington wild turkey population is an example. When the turkey population grows to an unbearable number, give hunters another tag, so more birds can be harvested.

In addition, kill permits are presented to some landowners when turkeys are damaging crops and otherwise causing problems. One landowner in Eastern Washington has been getting 10 kill permits a year and each permit allows the killing of two turkeys.

A flock of 300 birds was once spotted on this man’s land. They get into this cattle rancher’s feeder and soil the contents. As a result, he feeds the cattle early in the morning, before the sun is up, perhaps 5 a.m. The turkeys have yet to leave their roost when the cattle are fed.

This rancher and I met during a fall turkey season. Rudy Lopez and I were hunting turks across the road from the rancher’s land. We backed the Death Ram onto the land we had permission to hunt and were looking at an empty field on land we didn’t have permission to hunt.

We watched as a flock of 150 turkeys came out of the brush on the left, we counted them. Next 150 turkeys were spotted on the right side of the field. The two flocks merged.

A dilapidated pickup approached our spot and stopped directly in front of us. Rudy commented about how rude it was for the driver to stop in this spot. My comment centered around the possibility of this man being the landowner.

It was the landowner and he told us to go get the birds. He also invited us to stop at his house later in the day. We did and he gave us a kill permit for two birds each. We filled out tags and the kill permits.

Mourning dove

The mourning dove limit has been increased, from 10 a day to 15. Plus, the season has been extended from 30 days to 60 days. There were years when the dove season was only 15 days.

The increase in the daily limit and the lengthening of the season allows hunters more time in the field, plus helps control the dove population. There seems to be more mourning doves staying all winter in the area, instead of migrating.

Next week: Final thoughts about hunters and conservation.