Gov't says brown pelicans are endangered no longer
By DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press Writer – 8 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Much like its death-defying dives for fish, the brown pelican
has resurfaced after plummeting to the brink of extinction.
Interior Department officials on Wednesday announced that they were taking
the bird off the endangered species list, after a nearly four-decade
struggle to keep the brown pelican population afloat.
The bird now prevalent across Florida, the Gulf and Pacific coasts and the
Caribbean was declared an endangered species in 1970, after its population —
much like those of the bald eagle and peregrine falcon — was decimated by
the use of the pesticide DDT. The chemical, consumed when the pelican ate
tainted fish, caused it to lay eggs with shells so thin they broke during
incubation.
The pelican's recovery is largely due to a 1972 ban on DDT, coupled with
efforts by states and conservation groups to protect its nesting sites and
monitor its population, Interior Department officials said.
"Today we can say the brown pelican is back," said Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar in a conference call with reporters in Washington. "Once again, we
see healthy flocks of these graceful birds flying over our shores. The brown
pelican is endangered no longer."
The official announcement came earlier at a press conference at Big
Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge inLouisiana, which is dubbed the
"Pelican State". The bird has been on the state's official seal since 1804,
but the pelican had virtually disappeared from its coasts in the 1960s.
"It's been a long journey," said Tom Strickland, assistant secretary for
fish, wildlife, parks for the Interior Department. "It's tracked my whole
adult life."
Strickland acknowledged that the bird's coastal habitat was in danger from
rising seas and erosion, but he said wildlife officials were confident the
bird was ready to be taken off the list.
Anthony Walgamotte, a 75-year-old retired levee worker fishing along Irish
Bayou outside New Orleans on Wednesday, said he never knew the bird was in
trouble. Nearby, brown pelicans rested on pilings every few hundred yards.
"They're plentiful now," he said.
The plight of the brown pelican has tracked closely with the development and
birth of the nation's environmental policy and the environmental movement.
It was listed as endangered before Congress passed the Endangered Species
Act in 1973. And its struggle for survival, initially due to hunting for
feathers to decorate hats, led to the birth of the National Wildlife Refuge
System more than 100 years ago. That's whenPresident Theodore
Roosevelt created the first refuge at Pelican Island in Florida.
Nowadays the bird is prevalent along the coasts of Florida, Alabama,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, California, Washington and Oregon, and its
global population, including the Caribbean and Latin America, is estimated
at 650,000. It can often be seen dramatically diving headfirst into the
water to emerge with a mouthful of fish.
The Bush administration in early 2008 proposed removing the bird from
the endangered species list. In 1985, the Fish and Wildlife Service
eliminated brown pelicans living in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and up
the Atlantic Coast from the list.
Some environmentalists Wednesday said that they would like to see
populations in the Western Gulf and the Caribbean stay on the list. Along
the Gulf Coast the concern is that the population lives on low-lying islands
and coasts vulnerable to hurricanes and the rising sea levels expected to
come with global warming. In the Caribbean, the question is whether the
population has been sufficiently monitored.
"We remain very concerned with the long-term viability in the face of global
warming and hurricanes," saidKieran Suckling of the Center for Biological
Diversity. "We would prefer to see the federal government secure long-term
agreements (along the Gulf) to ensure coastal nesting habitat is going to be
restored and protected in perpetuity."
The announcement does not remove all protections for the species. It will
still be protected by other laws, such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
___
Associated Press writer Cain Burdeau contributed to this report from New
Orleans.
___
On the Net:
Fish and Wildlife Service: http://tinyurl.com/ygvbbxe
Thanks for posting this Bill. The ultimate test of a species recovery programme is to have this de-listing happen. Very good news that the endangered species "ratchet" isn't a ratchet at all and goes both ways.
Brown Pelican Removed From Endagered List
Reply With Quote
