AR-News: (MI) Gov. Granholm Backtracking on Promise, May Allow Dove Kill

[Political Animal]

Despite a pre-election pledge to veto any legislation
allowing dove hunting in MI, Governor Jennifer
Granholm is now testing the waters to see if a
"compromise" allowing dove hunting in certain parts of
the state will be politically safe for her.

After you read this article, let her know what you
think of dove hunting, and politicians that don't keep
promises.  Demand she veto HB 5029, the dove hunt
bill.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm
517-335-7858
Fax: 517-335-6863
E-mail: 
www.michigan.gov/gov/0,1607,7-168-21995-65331--,00.html



http://www.freep.com/news/mich/dove21_20040421.htm

Governor considers trial dove hunt 

Compromise could break impasse in Legislature 
April 21, 2004






BY ERIC SHARP 
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST




Gov. Jennifer Granholm is seriously considering a
compromise that would allow an experimental dove
hunting season in southern Michigan. The hunt, which
would be held in a handful of counties near the Ohio
and Indiana borders, would be reviewed after three
years. 

Hunting groups have been pushing for a statewide
season that would make Michigan the 40th state where
dove hunting is legal. Animal rights activists have
opposed those efforts. 

The compromise was proposed by Sam Washington,
executive director of Michigan United Conservation
Clubs. It has received enough attention from Granholm
that animal rights groups in Lansing and Washington
have reminded her of a pledge to veto any dove bill,
and that breaking it could cost her in her next
election bid. 

Elizabeth Boyd, the governor's press secretary, said
Tuesday that the MUCC proposal "seems like a
reasonable solution" to the impasse over a bill
stalled in the Legislature. 

"Even more interesting is that the Natural Resources
Commission has signaled its approval" of the
compromise, Boyd said. 

The compromise was praised by dove hunting proponents
and Keith Charters, chairman of the state Natural
Resources Commission, which would set the bag limits,
season and regulations. 

Under the proposal: 


The Legislature would pass a dove bill that would not
be subject to a referendum in November. 

The Natural Resources Commission would set a
three-year fall season of short duration in the area
west of U.S.-23 and south of I-94 -- five entire
counties and parts of seven others. The area is near
the borders of Ohio and Indiana, which allow dove
hunting. 

Part of a dove hunting license (suggested at $2) would
be used to buy and improve wildlife habitat. 

After three years, the Natural Resources Commission
would study the impact on Michigan's dove population
to decide whether the hunt should continue. 
A dove bill passed the state Senate last month and was
returned to a conference committee for concurrence by
the House. But Granholm, a Democrat, said she would
veto the bill unless it allowed for a referendum on
dove hunting in November. The Republican-controlled
Legislature has refused to send the bill to her desk
with a referendum attached. 

Charters, from Traverse City, said he liked the
incremental approach proposed by MUCC. 

"I think that we should reclassify doves from
songbirds to game birds," Charters said. "I'm also a
firm believer that you should walk before you run." 

Eileen Liska, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Humane
Society, said she would urge Granholm to reject the
proposal. 

"This is not acceptable," Liska said. "People in this
state don't want doves shot, and that includes most
hunters. 

"Rarely have I seen an issue where there's no room for
compromise and wiggling around, but there's no wiggle
room in this. Doves have been protected as songbirds
here for 100 years. I believe people have a legitimate
right to go out and hunt and put food on their tables,
but no one is going to feed their family on doves.
It's a delicacy." 

Supporters of a hunt say mourning doves are the most
popular U.S. game bird and are hunted in states
bordering Michigan. 

Word of the compromise prompted the Humane Society of
the United States to release a 2001 questionnaire in
which Granholm said she would veto any dove bill that
passed the Legislature, as well as any bill that
transferred power to designate game animals from the
Legislature to the NRC. 

"Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders voted for Gov.
Granholm because she pledged not to support a dove
hunting season," said Wayne Pacelle, senior vice
president of the group. 

Two studies show that about 4 million mourning doves
migrate out of Michigan each fall, although many
others spend the winter. The national population
fluctuates between 400 million to 500 million, making
doves among the most numerous of American birds. Liska
said those studies have been manipulated by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and dove hunting proponents
to mask decreases in dove numbers in some places they
are hunted.




Contact ERIC SHARP at 313-222-2511 or
esharp at freepress.com. 




	
		
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