I probably will raise the ire of some bird lovers by confessing that I went dove hunting one fine afternoon last week.

The gray, feathered rockets once again are legal game in our fair state, ever since 2004 when the Legislature passed a bill reinstating the bird as a game species after a hiatus of nearly 50 years.

It took no small amount of political courage for lawmakers finally to let biological facts hold sway over emotion and once again elevate the species to gamebird status.

Elevate them so we can shoot them?

It may seem like a curious dichotomy, but hunters place a high value on protecting and propagating a species that they try to get in their gun sights.

Admittedly, the motives behind such organizations hardly are altruistic; they organize and then pony up our hard-earned dollars to ensure that there is the game to hunt and perhaps more important, the habitat to support them.

The list of wildlife success stories thanks to hunter support is long:

— More turkeys around because of a hunter’s organization known as the National Wild Turkey Federation.

— More grouse around because of a hunters’ organization known as the Ruffed Grouse Society.

— More pheasants around because of hunters’ organizations known as Pheasants Forever and Pheasants, Inc.

— More geese around because of hunters’ organizations known as Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, the Minnesota Waterfowl Association

— More deer around because of a hunter’s organization known as the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association.

There are others but you get the idea. Hunters put their money where their mouths are.

And if all boats float on a rising tide, then the non-hunting public that also enjoys seeing wild things benefits from these organizations’ efforts, as well.

Not that mourning doves are in any particular danger of vanishing, however. Even though their annual mortality is 70 percent, hunted or not, they are the most prolific and widespread of North American gamebirds with an estimated population of 130 million.