Idaho Officials Release Plan to Reduce Pelican Population

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho officials have released a 10-year draft management plan aimed at reducing the American white pelican population in the state by about half to protect native trout and sport fishing.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game released the 46-page plan Friday and is taking comments through April 2. Officials say the white pelican population in Idaho in the last 25 years grew from a few hundred to a five-year average of more than 5,600 breeding pelicans.

The draft plan calls for reducing that to 2,800. Officials say the pelicans mostly feed on abundant nongame fish but also consume Yellowstone cutthroat trout in southeastern Idaho.