Federal Policy Change Likely to End Wyoming Gun Club’s Pelican Control Efforts

A recent revision in federal regulations is set to stop the Alco Rod and Gun Club’s pelican-killing operation at 9-Mile Lake, southeast of Laramie, Wyoming, Wyo File reports.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced it will not renew the club’s depredation permit, which had allowed the killing of pelicans to protect stocked trout in the lake. This decision follows changes to the criteria for issuing lethal migratory bird depredation permits under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The new rules, enacted in April, prohibit the issuance of permits for abundant or non-native species and for recreational purposes, such as protecting stocked fish for angling. The Alco Rod and Gun Club had been using the permit to control the native pelicans, which they claimed were depleting the lake’s trout population. The club’s initial permit, allowing the killing of up to 30 pelicans, was issued in January, just before the regulation change.

Club member Pete Kontaxes, one of two men tasked with shooting the birds, expressed frustration with the new policy.

“If we can’t control the pelicans, we’re not going to have a fishing lake,” he said.

Kontaxes argued that the birds would return in force and decimate the fishery. Kontaxes added that the club invests about $25,000 annually to stock trout in the manmade lake, a former quarry.

However, the decision has been welcomed by other local residents and former members of the gun club, who were unhappy with the shooting of pelicans.

“They should not be shot simply because they eat the fish,” said Andy Anderson, a resident of the 9-Mile Lake community.

He and others argue that the pelicans are not significantly harming the quality of the fishing.

The USFWS has stated that it does not plan to reissue the permit to the club, given the new criteria. The gun club has indicated plans to appeal the decision.

“Given this new guidance, it wouldn’t be a renewal,” said USFWS spokesman Joe Szuszwalak.

Pelicans are classified as a “species of greatest conservation need” in Wyoming, with their populations recovering after historic declines due to factors like DDT. Despite the recovery, pelican populations in Wyoming are not closely monitored, and depredation permits for the birds have been rare in the state.

For now, the dispute over pelican control at 9-Mile Lake appears to have reached a resolution, though the Alco Rod and Gun Club may continue to push for future permits.