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Mourning Dove Bill Defeated 
By PAuL H. LOBIK 
IN THE FINAL RUSH of action prior to disbanding for two years, the Illinois 
General Assembly voted down a large number of controversial bills. One 
of these was H. R. 514, the bill to prevent hunting of Mourning Doves in 
Illinois. 
In a sense, the defeat of this bill could have been predicted, since a bill 
to take the State Conservation Department out of politics was defeated 
earlier by exactly the same vote. When the time came to decide, the wishes 
of the Conservation Department and the Izaak Walton League were obeyed, 
while the factual findings of the Illinois Audubon Society and other true 
conservation organizations were ignored. 
The behavior of the Conservation Department in catering to hunters and 
disregarding the facts of bird surveys was pretty much as expected. But the 
role of the Izaak Walton League bears closer study. ‘Why a society which 
pays real service to conservation should reverse itself by opposing the Dove 
Bill is a little hard to understand. 
The Chicago Tribune on July 5 reported an interview with Burton 
Atwood, president of the Illinois Division of the League, in which he said: 
“Our investigations, based on reports by qualified biologists of the U. S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, the State Conservation Department and the 
Illinois Natural History Survey, convinced us that there is no reason to 
believe that the dove is threatened with extinction by present hunting regu- 
lations in Illinois.” . 
Dr. R. M. Strong wrote to Mr. Atwood more than seven weeks ago, asking 
him where and when the Fish and Wildlife Service or the Natural History 
Survey supported the continued hunting of doves in Illinois. So far, Mr. 
Atwood has not answered. Previous articles on the Mourning Dove Bill in 
the last three issues of the Audubon Bulletin pointed out that the Fish and 
Wildlife Service has already admitted its error in estimating the annual kill 
of Illinois doves. It is well known that the Conservation Department has 
never had its biologists investigate Mourning Dove populations. And it is 
also well known that the Illinois Natural History Survey, in a report pub- 
lished in the December, 1951 Illinois Wildlife magazine, stated that dove 
populations were down by 40 to 60 per cent. Dr. T. G. Seott wrote the 
then Director of the Conservation Department on July 25, 1951, that the 
Survey had found the number of doves greatly reduced, and that he felt 
the hunting season on these birds should at least be restricted. In view of 
these facts, it should be interesting to see just what Mr. Atwood’s reply 
will be. Members of the I. A. S. who are also members of the Walton League 
might ask their president how he justifies his misinformation. 
The Dove Bill has been defeated, but the battle to protect doves must go 
on. Members should seek out and inform other groups all over the state— 
nature societies, church organizations, parent-teacher groups, garden clubs, 
yes, and sportsmen’s clubs—that united action is needed to maintain Mourn- 
ing Doves as a species in Illinois. The more individuals we inform now, the 
greater will be the flood of letters descending on our assemblymen when 
the Legislature convenes in 1955. 
