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Kansas City, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has special protocols in place for the upcoming dove hunting season at the James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area in Lee’s Summit. A long and popular tradition of dove hunting at the area will be offered again when the season opens on Tuesday, Sept. 1. But the area has special regulations for dove hunting, and precautions against COVID-19 will also be in place.
The Reed Area will be open for dove hunting from 1 p.m. to sunset during the season. Non-toxic shot is required for hunting on the Reed Area. The daily limit is 15 doves. Hunters are reminded to remove all trash from their hunting spots, including spent shotgun shells.
New curbside hunter check-in and check-out procedures are in place due to COVID-19. Hunters will check in at MDC’s Kansas City Regional Office just inside the main entrance. But they are asked to stay in their vehicle and maintain social distancing while waiting for an orange daily dove hunting tag from MDC staff. All dove hunters on the area must have an orange daily tag. They are used to record harvest as part of area management and ongoing studies on doves. Hunters will fill out the top portion of the daily tag and hand to the staff member. They will take the bottom portion of the tag and they are free to hunt anywhere on the area.
The best places to hunt will be the prepared fields with sunflowers, wheat, or buckwheat, said Rick Bredesen, area manager. MDC encourages COVID-19 safety precautions such as physical distancing while on the area. MDC will not be assigning hunting areas or limiting hunter numbers in the field.
For check out, hunters will fill out all requested information on the orange tag including the number of doves harvested and the location on the area where they hunted. They should remove one wing from each mourning dove and check for leg bands. Harvest reports, wings, and leg bands are used for long-term studies on dove population and harvest trends. Check out will be at a designated spot at the Kansas City Regional Office. MDC staff in personal protective equipment will help hunters check out and deposit their tags and wings.
For more information about MDC’s James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZxU. To learn more about dove hunting in Missouri, visit https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZZt.
