During my three years as information director for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W), I most enjoyed sitting in on policy-making sessions. I saw it as a privilege.

As a lifelong sportsman who holds many views about how things ought to be done, or ought not to be done, this was a golden opportunity to have a say about hunting and fishing issues dear to my heart. A few of my suggestions took seed. Some were “tabled for future consideration.” A couple of my ideas drew knowing smiles of derision or soft chuckles from the seasoned fish and wildlife managers. One of my suggestions that got a lot of guffaws was to have a legal hunt for mourning doves in Maine.

The put-downs went something like this: “Sure, that’s all we need to bring the anti-hunting crowd and the birdwatchers down on us! A dove hunt? Geezzz, man.”

This seemed sort of chicken-hearted or close-minded to me. After all, the name of the game was to expand hunt opportunities whenever and wherever it could be done without compromising the resource. If Fish and Wildlife managers allowed themselves to be cowed by worries about the anti-hunting types, there would be no wildlife management programs.

All of this took place six or seven years ago.

This month, to my surprise and delight, the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine included a Maine dove hunt among its suggested litany of MDIF&W “revenue enhancers.” Here it is:

Dove season: $20. This does not require legislation. It is allowed in the federal framework for migratory birds and can simply be scheduled by the department (with Advisory Council approval). Doves are the most hunted birds in the United States. Forty states offer dove hunting seasons.

It will be interesting to see how this suggestion fares today in the hands of the present fish and game leaders and the Advisory Council. There really is no good reason why Maine should not become the 41st state in the country to offer a legal dove hunt.

Mourning doves are increasingly plentiful in Maine. They are in fact the only American game bird found in all of our contiguous 48 states. And despite intense hunting pressure in many parts of the country, the dove is as plentiful today as it has ever been.

Having hunted doves during my U.S. Navy hitch around the soybean fields in Virginia, I can vouch for their appeal as a challenging game bird. They are fast and elusive flyers. My recollection is that once subjected to hunting pressure these birds will dart, weave and bob like no other upland game bird. If you miss one in flight, it will put its beak down and dive for the deck like a Sopwith Camel with the Red Baron on its tail. If our ruffed grouse is the “thunder chicken,” the mourning dove is the “grey bullet” of upland game birds.

The dove is an interesting species. In his book “Doves and Dove Shooting,” author Byron Dalrymple writes that, despite the mourning doves symbolic reputation as a loving and till-death-do-us-part bird-mate, male and female doves pairs often fight like Archie and Edith Bunker, sometimes to the death. The male plays around a lot, too. According to Dalrymple, doves “can stand adverse weather conditions just about as well as any birds known.”

The dove is also a delicate and tasty bird in the frying pan. Whether pan fried or slow cooked in a crockpot, dove is every bit as tasty as quail.

Given the multi-million dollar budget shortfall facing the state Fish and Wildlife Department, an experimental Maine dove hunt would generate some additional revenues while expanding our upland bird hunt options. Without a doubt a dove season will mean that Commissioner Martin will have to take some heat in the front office from the birdwatchers who don’t hunt (Yes, some of us hunters are birdwatchers too.)

In his book Dalrymple writes: “The mourning dove, without question, is one of the finest, if not the finest game bird flying in the U.S today. And it is the game bird least known, least appreciated by the average American gunner.”

A Maine dove hunt. An idea whose time has come?

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WCME-FM 96.7) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].