Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Election 2006: Proposal 3

4. November 2006 • Juliew
Email this article

Proposal 06-3
A REFERENDUM ON PUBLIC ACT 160 OF 2004 – AN ACT TO ALLOW THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A HUNTING SEASON FOR MOURNING DOVES

Public Act 160 of 2004 would:

  • Authorize the Natural Resources Commission to establish a hunting season for mourning doves.
  • Require a mourning dove hunter to have a small game license and a $2.00 mourning dove stamp.
  • Stipulate that revenue from the stamp must be split evenly between the Game and Fish Protection Fund and the Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund.
  • Require the Department of Natural Resources to address responsible mourning dove hunting; management practices for the propagation of mourning doves; and participation in mourning dove hunting by youth, the elderly and the disabled in the Department’s annual hunting guide.



  1. I hope people vote NO on this to prevent dove hunting.

    I have been particularly amused by the argument made by some in favor of this idea that doves are migratory and plentiful, so they are in no danger.

    Remember the passenger pigeon? 8-)


       —David Cahill    Nov. 4 '06 - 06:06PM    #
  2. mourning doves are threatened by extinction?


       —peter honeyman    Nov. 4 '06 - 11:22PM    #
  3. Not presently, no. But passenger pigeons used to be so plentiful that they darkened the sky, and no one thought they were endangered until the population collapsed suddenly.

    It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature!


       —David Cahill    Nov. 4 '06 - 11:34PM    #
  4. no one thought they were endangered until the population collapsed suddenly.

    Hm. Whatever history I can find suggests that there was more warning than that.

    Mourning dove hunting isn’t a new thing, and I haven’t seen any claims it threatens the population. Do you have any evidence to the contrary?

    I’ll probably vote against just because I’d rather people didn’t wander around the forest firing guns at stuff, but it’s not something I feel that strongly about….


       —Bruce Fields    Nov. 5 '06 - 12:20AM    #
  5. Whatever folks think about the merits of the proposal, the pro-dove initiative seems to be well-funded, and well-organized. Last weekend a guy came knocking door-to-door for the doves. He had a glossy pamphlet.

    And then there’s this animation of Dave the Dove [no relation here, how about you Cahill? ;-)==], which just struck me as plain WEIRD.


       —HD    Nov. 5 '06 - 03:26AM    #
  6. 20% of the DNR’s budget comes from hunting and fishing licenses, with a similar percentage from other use permits.

    You’d have a lot fewer chances to enjoy those woods you like walking around without the help of the wackos who want to shoot doves.

    -Not a hunter but inclined to support them on this


       —Patrick Austin    Nov. 6 '06 - 06:43PM    #
  7. i have yet to hear an argument against proposal 3 that makes any sense.

    mostly what i hear is that allowing the symbol of peace to be hunted is bad. which just makes me … snicker.


       —peter honeyman    Nov. 7 '06 - 09:49AM    #
  8. “20% of the DNR’s budget comes from hunting and fishing licenses, with a similar percentage from other use permits.”

    But how is that money spent? The implication is that hunters are subsidizing non-hunters use of state parks and state lands. Is that actually the case? If so, where are the numbers that show that?


       —John Q.    Nov. 7 '06 - 10:13AM    #
  9. I dont think it is right and I think that we shoul not be abole to hunt and kill the mourning dove.


       —rachel    Nov. 7 '06 - 07:30PM    #
  10. see what i mean about the arguments against proposal 3?


       —peter honeyman    Nov. 8 '06 - 01:39AM    #
  11. I think the only real reason against Prop 3 is to give people fewer reasons be be drunk with a gun in their hands. But then again most (but not all) of the victims of said drunks are their friends and family, so I shouldn’t have to be too concerned about that. Right, Mr. Cheney? I will, though, be careful around my bird feeder.

    OK so is hunting mourning doves going to have a season?


       —abc    Nov. 8 '06 - 01:49AM    #
  12. No because it’s not going to pass.


       —John Q.    Nov. 8 '06 - 02:54AM    #
  13. The first Washtenaw County result is from Sylvan Township, a conservative rural area surrounding Chelsea. Proposal 3 lost Sylvan Township by some 200 votes. It’s very hard to imagine how the thing could win without carrying places like Sylvan.


       —Larry Kestenbaum    Nov. 8 '06 - 08:08AM    #
  14. It’s getting pounded all over. Prop 2 appears to be doing well in “blue collar” communities but losing in “white collar” communities.


       —John Q.    Nov. 8 '06 - 08:13AM    #