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Brown Pelicans Are Endangered No Longer By Dina Cappiello November 13, 2009 7:07AM 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 pelican's recovery is largely due to a 1972 ban on DDT.   Related Topics Global Warming Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Environment Endangered Species Latest News Endeavour Inspected for Damage Autism Risk for Kids of Older Mothers Go Online and You Can Save the Planet In Haiti, Relief Gaps Are Spreading U.S. To Form Climate-Change Agency 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 in Louisiana, 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 when President Theodore Roosevelt created the first refuge at Pelican Island in Florida. (continued...) 1  |  2  |  Next Page >   © 2010 Associated Press/AP Online under contract with YellowBrix. All rights reserved.   Tell Us What You Think Your Comment: Also Visit: iPad Info Center Billions of Bytes Mobile Device Now Apple Info Center TopTechWire.com Advertisement  Science News 1.   Autism Risk for Kids of Older Mothers 2.   The Human Genome-Patent Dilemma 3.   California Is Moon-Junk Protector 4.   Study: SIDS Linked to Low Serotonin 5.   Fly Me To the Moon in a Space Taxi U.N. Warming Report Misinforms Scientists promise to be more careful. Average Rating: U.S. Space Program: Final Frontier? A Jetsons-like future seems unlikely. Average Rating: Good Night Moon, Hello Rockets Dramatic rocketry changes mandated. Average Rating:

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