eet Grae te aed BeOwNe at Oi Le hep rN 3 
Protection for Mourning Doves — II 
By Paut H. LoBIk 
THE NEED FOR PROTECTION of mourning doves in Illinois was originally 
stated in the September issue of the Bulletin. Since then, the Illinois 
Audubon Society has taken the following steps: 
1. A Committee for the Conservation of the Mourning Dove in Illinois 
was appointed by President Harry Smith, with Mr. Raymond Mostek as 
chairman and Francis C. Whitehead and Paul H. Lobik as members. 
2. Mr. Mostek has written to Representative George S. Brydia of 
Prophetstown, Illinois, to determine whether he would be willing to sponsor 
a bill in the coming session of the State Assembly to place the mourning 
dove on the list of protected birds. Mr. Brydia was the author of the bill 
which was killed in committee at the last session of the Assembly. 
3. A letter has been sent to Mr. Guy Atherton, Director, Conservation 
Militant, Box 72, St. Paul 2, Minnesota, who has been spearheading the 
drive to stop hunting of doves in all states. He points out that closed 
seasons in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana are mean- 
ingless if doves can still be slaughtered during their fall migration through 
Illinois. Mr. Atherton has offered to send the I. A. S. the names of five 
Illinois Assemblymen who are willing to sponsor a mourning dove bill. 
Members who wish to aid Mr. Atherton in his nation-wide conservation 
program may write to him at the address above. 
4, Mr. Mostek has also written to retiring Governor Adlai Stevenson 
and asked him to recommend the names of several assemblymen who 
could be relied upon to support the bill in the next session. 
5. Mr. Whitehead has conferred with the State Assemblyman from 
his district regarding this project. His representative pointed out that 
such a bill is not likely to be favorably received in the State Assembly 
unless it has the full endorsement of the State Department of Conserva- 
tion (the bill which failed did not have such support). Therefore, the 
assemblyman advises us to write to Governor-elect William Stratton, 
urging him to appoint a Director of Conservation who is actively interested 
in protecting and encouraging wildlife in Illinois. After the appointment 
is made known, all I. A. S. members should write to the Conservation 
Director, Department of Conservation, Springfield, Illinois, asking him to 
close the hunting season on mourning doves. 
6. Any member of this Society who ‘s closely connected with a State 
Assemblyman, and who knows that the representative would be favorable 
to our conservation aims, should write at once to the Dove Committee, 
% The Editor, Illinois Audubon Bulletin, giving us his name and address. 
In writing to the Governor-elect, point out the facts given in this and 
the preceding article. The I. A. S., represented by Mr. Charles Kossack, 
and the Illinois Natural History Survey, represented by Mr. Harold C. 
Hanson, have been collecting data on the mourning dove situation for the 
past four years. In the December, 1951 issue of Illinois Wildlife magazine, 
these men wrote: “On the basis of data collected up to July 1 (1951), it 
