U.S. PELICANS UN-ENDANGERED

BROWN PELICANS BACK ON U.S. BEACHES

The brown pelican, once on the brink of extinction, has become so abundant that after 40 years it may finally be removed from the endangered species list.

Pelicans almost completely vanished in the United States in the 1960s because of DDT contamination from poisoned fish. DDT was banned in the U.S in 1972, and the pelican was put on the endangered species list. It was taken off the list in ‘85 along the Atlantic Coast, but remains endangered in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, California, Washington and Oregon. Under government supervision, the brown pelican has made a strong comeback, and this month the U.S. Interior Department announced a proposal to remove brown pelicans from the national endangered species list.

Today more than 70,000 breeding pairs of pelicans live in California and Baja California, and total numbers have surged to about 620,000 along the West Coast, the Gulf Coast, and in Latin and South America. Even without the Endangered Species Act, pelicans enjoy wide protection. The Channel Islands, a primary nesting ground, are a national park, and Mexico has created reserves along the Gulf of California, where the vast majority breed.

Unlike the controversial decision to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list, government and conservationists agree that the pelicans are no longer threatened with extinction, either in the foreseeable future or in the long term, and should be de-listed.

Shoutout to pelicans everywhere.

Sources, resources, discourses:

1. Associated Press – article
2. Los Angeles Times – article and photo