They wouldnt need bird tags to determine the optimal number of eggs to destroy and adult pelicans to kill they would simply have to count the numbers of pelicans feeding at these reservoirs to get that number. If anything, tracking the tagged adults provides evidence to argue * against * the practice. For example: stop killing these pelicans, because they are known to winter in the state of California, where their population numbers are such that the State has designated them as a Species of Species Concern. Evidence Reports of tagged individuals in CA. Also, tracking the tagged individuals gives information on if those pelicans even return to the breeding sites. If they get attacked and hazed so much from those colonies in Idaho that they decide to start breeding somewhere else, that might give Idaho Fish & Game reason to focus more on hazing than on destroying eggs, or it might make them decide to ease up on the program. Or they may find out that those tagged pelicans from the Idaho breeding colonies arent even the ones that are feeding on the fish those birds might head further south after breeding, and the offending pelicans might be from Canada. The scenarios are many, and reporting data helps figure that out. Thank you for letting us know about this situation, Jim! And airing your concerns helped start a (hopefully) constructive and educational conversation on the value of data. Linette Davenport Orange, CA From: [email protected] On Behalf Of James Pike
Sent: Tuesday, March 5, 2019 9:40 AM
To: Gjon Hazard
Cc: Orangecountybirding
Subject: Re: [OrangeCountyBirding] Tagged White pelican Hi Gjon, Where we differ is that you want Idaho authorities to make the best-informed decision possible when determining the optimal number of eggs to destroy and adult pelicans to kill, whereas I want them to make an entirely *different* decision, one that doesnt involve either of those options. You evidently can reconcile assisting them in their efforts, while I cant. A similar banding study involving Double-crested Cormorants being conducted on Sand Island at the mouth of the Columbia River employs similar methods in hopes of achieving similar aims as those in Idaho. After researching this project online, I contributed money to the Audubon Society of Portland to assist their lawsuit seeking to halt the project rather than choosing to contribute cormorant band-numbers to assist the project itself. The bottom line is that birders deserve to know why they are encountering bands on these fish-eating species and how the data they contribute might be used in service of these studies. Maybe theyll conclude that the ends justify the means, or maybe they wont. Jim Pike HB

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