Drought impacts dove hunting season
MENDOTA, Calif. (KFSN) -- The first day of September also marks the start of dove hunting season.
Monday morning, dozens of hunters secured their own spots and shots at the Mendota Wildlife Area.
"It's nice. I like it. There's a lot of doves flying early in the morning," said Kevin Debono, a hunter.
Debono came from the Bay Area with his brother-in-law and puppy to hunt. Fish and Wildlife says people across the state came to Mendota to take part in the first hunt.
"It's a place to hunt doves. We usually have fairly good numbers. With the drought this year, our forage is a little less than typical, so it may not be as good a year as it has been," said Department of Fish and Wildlife Manager Steve Brueggemann.
Brueggemann says since less safflower was planted, fewer doves will come to the land. That combination also meant less people were allowed past the gates to hunt at sunrise. Fish and Wildlife received 270 applications for 60 spots.
Local hunters like Tom McCarthy were frustrated at the change.
"I couldn't find a place to hunt," he said. "I'm from Fresno. A guy my age from Fresno had many places to hunt, where it's built up, so they're dwindling."
McCarthy came with two generations of his family and said he would have to wait until the rest of the patient hunters were allowed in.
As for Debono, he was able to make the most of his early morning hours and says hunting is a tradition he enjoys.
"I like to be out with my family, it's nice to be out with nature. I think it's like, especially in California, a dying art form," he said.
Dove hunting season continues for 15 days. It will pick back up in November.
