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Environmental Law

: ESA Blawg

Delisting the Brown Pelican

By Keith Rizzardi

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73 Fed. Reg. 9408- 9433 (Feb. 20, 2008) (Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Petition Finding and Proposed Rule To Remove the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Proposed Rule)

SUMMARY: Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to remove the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List) due to recovery. This action is based on a review of the best available scientific and commercial data, which indicates that the species is no longer in danger of extinction, or likely to become so within the foreseeable future. If this proposal is finalized, the brown pelican will remain protected under the provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This document also constitutes our 12-month finding on a petition to delist the brown pelican subspecies that occurs along the Pacific Coast of California and Mexico, including the Gulf of California, and a petition to delist the Louisiana population of the brown pelican. We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before April 21, 2008.

Photo of Brown Pelican flock from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers article, "Louisiana state bird recovering with help from Corps," available online.

NOTABLE ANALYSIS: The primary reason for severe declines in the brown pelican population in the United States, and for designating the species as endangered, was DDT contamination in the 1960s and early 1970s. Additionally, pesticides like dieldrin and endrin were also found to negatively impact brown pelicans. Since the banning of these organochlorine pesticides, brown pelican abundance within the U.S. has shown a dramatic recovery, and although annual reproductive success varies widely, populations have remained generally stable for at least 20 years... In conclusion, major threats to brown pelicans have been reduced, managed, or eliminated. Remaining factors that affect brown pelicans occur on localized scales, are short-term events, or affect small numbers of individuals and do not have long-term effects on population numbers or distribution of the species. We have determined that none of the existing or potential threats, either alone or in combination with others, are likely to cause the brown pelican to become in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future throughout all or any significant portion of its range. We believe the brown pelican no longer requires the protection of the Act, and, therefore, we propose to remove it from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

OTHER RESOURCES:

FWS Questions and Answers about the delisting of the Brown Pelican.
Petition to delist the Brown Pelican, as filed by the Endangered Species Recovery Council
“Pelicans make a comeback” from the San Diego Union Tribune
Wikipedia article on the brown pelican.

LOCAL PERSPECTIVES:

“Brown Pelican bounces back on Coast, Endangered No More” from South Mississippi‘s Sun Herald.

Full post as published by ESA Blawg on February 20, 2008 (boomark / email).

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