01-14-2013, 03:52 PM
Actually it is up for debate to what extent the pelicans existed in Idaho prior to european settlement. Pelicans thrive in environments where islands provide safe nesting grounds and those types of environments did not exist in Idaho prior to man-made reservoirs.
So the idea of "natural numbers" is somewhat unknown for pelicans in this area. The blackfoot reservoir population has gone from 200 in 1993 to 2400 in 2008. Attempts to limit reproductive success by placing egg-eating predators (skunks and badgers) failed in 2010 when the badgers and skunks all swam to the mainland rather than stay on the islands.
As I see it we (man) have created an unnatural environment (the reservoirs) that has caused an imbalance in the relationship between predator and prey. Because of that, environmentalists need to recognize that the pelicans should take a back seat to the cutthroat that we do know existed in higher numbers in the past.
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So the idea of "natural numbers" is somewhat unknown for pelicans in this area. The blackfoot reservoir population has gone from 200 in 1993 to 2400 in 2008. Attempts to limit reproductive success by placing egg-eating predators (skunks and badgers) failed in 2010 when the badgers and skunks all swam to the mainland rather than stay on the islands.
As I see it we (man) have created an unnatural environment (the reservoirs) that has caused an imbalance in the relationship between predator and prey. Because of that, environmentalists need to recognize that the pelicans should take a back seat to the cutthroat that we do know existed in higher numbers in the past.
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