Why not try jump-shooting for doves by walking shelterbelt edges in Kansas and Nebraska? That's how Wayne Williams collected these birds! Photo courtesy of Wayne Williams.

Researching this story reminded me once again of how interesting covering hunting and fishing can be. Many times over the years, interviews with state and federal fish and wildlife managers have led me into areas I never expected, with newsy information that proved surprising here and, we hope, to readers.

I learned some things about the current state of dove hunting in the southern region of the Great Plains, and the lessons are both interesting and exciting. I learned, for example, that Nebraska's dove hunting might just be one of the state's most enjoyable, yet underexploited, resources.

Personal experience suggests that Kansas can boast pretty much the same thing.

I also learned about an exotic species -- some understandably term it "invasive" -- that has spread like a wind-fed tallgrass prairie fire across not just the Great Plains but North America as well. Chances are you're going to bag some of them this season, and you might wonder -- even worry -- about their impact on our dynamic mourning dove resource.

Don't. You'll learn why later.

For now, know that Nebraska and Kansas are preparing for another "typical" dove season. That means you should expect to find plenty of birds unless an early cold front stirs things up before the traditional Sept. 1 opener.

THE OUTLOOK
The biologists with whom I spoke in both states suggested that dove numbers across the southern Great Plains have been, are now, and should continue to be stable.

"Our doves are doing pretty well," said biologist Helen Hands, who works for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks at Cheyenne Bottoms, one of the region's places of pilgrimage for the waterfowler. "In the past 10 to 20 years, if there has been any decline at all, it's been in eastern Kansas. Our birds in the central and western parts of the state are doing well."

To the north, in Nebraska, biologist Jeff Lusk echoes Hands. "Our dove populations are fairly steady," Lusk stated. "We haven't identified any trends in terms of numbers changing very much at all."

That's really good to hear when you consider the numbers. Lusk said that Nebraska sees about one-sixth the number of dove hunters as it does pheasant hunters, but each group harvests about the same number of birds -- upwards of a quarter-million every season!

"We definitely have a healthy population of doves, but we don't see as many hunters taking advantage of it," he said. "We definitely offer some outstanding dove hunting."

Kansas does, too. Personal experience taught me that many years ago. My late, dear friend Ralph Schlagel invited me to join his friends and family for their traditional open-morning shoot, and I learned quickly about the rites of Sept. 1 in the Sunflower State.

In some places, the first weekend of November is revered because prairie chicken season opens. Chicken shoots in Butler and other Kansas counties are as much social events as they are great hunts. The same can be said in north-central and southwestern Kansas a week later, which is the traditional pheasant opener.

But even those wingshooters likely kick things off in a grand way Sept. 1 when dove season opens. It's the earliest wingshooting season in the Great Plains. And if you've never experienced it, you need to -- soon!

You'll find that the Kansas and Nebraska fish and game Web sites (Internet addresses for which appear at the end of this story) provide information on locations for dove hunting. Lusk noted that some public areas around the state include ones that are managed specifically as dove fields.