The September 1 dove opener goes back more than a century, to the treaty that put migratory birds under federal protection.
A 1921 federal release explained that the treaty between the United States and Great Britain required a closed season on doves and certain other migratory birds between March 10 and September 1. That made September 1 the earliest date a dove season could open, and it still is today.
Within that framework, nearly every state opens on September 1 or the first Saturday in September, and seasons can run no later than January 15.