September marks the return of football season as well as the opening of dove and early Canada goose and teal hunting. Before heading afield for any migratory birds this year, make sure you are registered with the Harvest Information Program.
By Randy Zellers, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Each year some hunters are busy in a last-minute scramble to purchase hunting licenses, and a few unlucky souls realize their HIP oversight when it’s too late. Getting your license and free HIP registration is easy and takes only a few minutes online. You can get your license at many sporting goods stores, but the HIP is only available at AGFC regional offices, nature centers and through agfc.com.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created the Harvest Information Program in 1999 to gather consistent information about how many hunters pursued each species of migratory bird and how many of these birds were being harvested on a nationwide scale.
The process starts with a simple series of questions when you register. The answers to those questions are used to categorize all migratory bird hunters by the birds they pursue and the number of times they likely go afield. Randomly selected representatives of each segment are later invited to participate in voluntary daily hunter diaries or wing surveys, where certain hunters are asked to mail in a wing of each bird they harvest during the season to verify species, age and sex.
Brett Leach, Waterfowl Program coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, says each state participates in the program, and a few thousand hunters are chosen in each state to get an accurate picture of the harvest.
“So the questions you get at the time of your registration are just the beginning of the process,” Leach said. “Once all the final surveys are complete, we have a good estimate of harvest that we can compare with many other tools coordinated by each state and compiled at the federal level to ensure harvests are in line with population estimates and trends.”
Unfortunately, because the HIP registration is free, many hunters who do not hunt migratory birds sometimes register “just in case.” Leach says it’s best to wait until you know you’re going and to be as honest as possible about the actual number of birds harvested last season.
“That data is very important in harvest management, which includes determining season structures and limits,” Leach said. “Without good data, our season structures aren’t giving the best fit for both the birds and the hunters.”
The first segment of Arkansas’s dove season opens Saturday, Sept. 5, and runs through Oct. 25. The second segment is Dec. 8-Jan. 15.
The daily dove bag limit is 15 for mourning doves and white-winged doves combined. The federal possession limit is 45. There are no daily or possession limits on Eurasian collared doves.
Doves are migratory game birds, and hunters must have shotguns capable of holding no more than three shells at a time by federal law.
Visit www.agfc.com/licenses to ensure your license and HIP registration are up to date.
More information on dove season, early Canada goose and teal seasons can be found at www.agfc.com.
