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CONTRIBUTED BY THE TWRA

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is seeking fields to lease for the upcoming 2020 dove season. The first segment of dove season opens at noon on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Landowners can earn up to $3,600 for providing a dove field for public hunting.  These fields must be available for a minimum of three priority hunt dates in September.

Mourning doves are a popular game bird and one of the most widely distributed and abundant birds in North America. More mourning doves are harvested than all other migratory bird species combined in 39 of the continental states.

In Tennessee, an estimated 15,500 hunters harvested approximately 277,000 mourning doves last year.

TWRA began its leased dove field program in the late 1980s and the program has been very successful in providing quality hunting opportunities for hunters.

In addition to leased fields, many public dove fields are provided on wildlife management areas in each TWRA region. The TWRA website will have specific information about WMAs and leased dove fields in each region beginning Aug. 15.

The standard fall leased field is a harvested grain field to which TWRA leases the hunting rights for three priority dates.

The hunting access rate paid to landowners for fall leased fields may be up to $75 per acre for a maximum of 40 acres. Fields that are top sown with wheat are eligible for an additional $15 per acre. Interested landowners must sign up their fields in August.

Anyone interested in leasing a dove field to TWRA should contact their TWRA regional office.

Although offices are closed to public traffic, due to COVID-19, phones are maintained during business hours (8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. local time).

TWRA has four regional offices across the state that interested landowners can contact: Region I (West Tennessee) 731-423-5725 or toll-free 800-372-3928; Region II (Middle Tennessee) 615-781-6622 or toll-free 800-624-7406; Region III (Upper Cumberland) 931-484-9571 or toll-free 833-402-4698; Region IV (East Tennessee) 423-587-7037 or 800-332-0900.