Mourning and White-winged Doves, A Funding Strategy

This strategy contains recommendations for updated priority information needs that build upon previous priorities identified in the first workshop convened by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Migratory Shore and Upland Game Bird Task Force. This strategy is intended to inform research and management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ Webless Migratory Game Bird Program and assist stakeholder coordination for completing priorities to improve the management of mourning and white-winged doves.

In collaboration with the national Flyways and dove researchers, the National Dove Task Force (NDTF) developed a revised list of priority information needs for mourning and white-winged doves. The NDTF was established by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Migratory Shore and Upland Game Bird Working Group to address management of mourning and white-winged doves. The NDTF identified 6 issues that they believe should be addressed to improve management of these species:

1. Improve the Harvest Information Program
2. Develop an integrated population model for mourning doves
3. Complete a new banding assessment for mourning doves
4. Assess effects of landscape-level changes on dove species
5. Estimate factors affecting hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation
6. Assess the economic impact of dove hunting
    

The priority information needs identified in this strategy will improve the population and harvest management of these two dove species by: 

1. increasing our understanding of dove population dynamics and the effect of harvest on these dynamics
2. providing better information about dove hunters’ preferences and the economic impact of dove hunting to managers so they can better allocate resources
3. better structuring the decision making process for managing doves