By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
One of the great fall traditions in Kansas is just days away as dove hunting season begins on Sept. 1. Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Manager Jason Wagner reminds dove hunters they will need a Kansas Harvest Information Program (HIP) stamp to legally hunt the birds. He also said the upcoming season looks promising based on a recent survey of the area.
"There are spots where there are just hundreds and hundreds of them sitting on the roads and on the powerlines," he said. "That's a pretty good indicator on the population. I think that cold front we had a couple weeks ago pushed some birds down."
Teal season begins on Sept. 14 in the low plains east of U.S. 283 Highway, which includes Barton County. Federal and state waterfowl stamps are required to legally hunt migratory birds, and Wagner said the physical federal stamp will not be required this year.
"They have changed that regulation now where they are accepting electronic stamps," he said. "So what's going to happen now is when you buy your federal duck stamp, you have it on your app, or it's just printed on a piece of paper if you go to Walmart and buy your hunting license that way. Then in March, they'll actually mail you the physical stamp."
In the past, the federal stamp required a signature to be valid. Many hunters collect the federal duck stamp and will continue to have that option with the stamps arriving after the hunting seasons.