When I hunted in Oregon, I had to pay for the federal harvest information validation. Then I come back to Idaho and had to pay it again so I could hunt doves last fall. What's the deal with that?

You're right; the Harvest Information Program is a federal program. It is aimed at gaining better information on the hunter harvest of migratory birds. But the individual states do the collection of information, so they charge to cover costs incurred because most state wildlife agencies, like Idaho's, are almost completely funded by what amounts to user fees.