Brown Pelicans - Conservation Goal Success!

40 Years ago, the Brown Pelican looked as though it would dissappear from planet earth at any moment. The pesticide DDT that, among other things, softened the egg shells of the pelican and killed the chicks, was in widespread use and was being dumped into the oceans of southern california. The pelican has always been used by scientists as an un-official "indicator species", meaning, if the pelican was doing ok, then the coastlines were doing ok. That was not the case in the early 70's. The brown pelican was named a national endangered species in 1970, three years before the Endangered Species Act was enacted due to its spiraling population numbers.

However, since the ban of DDT and lots of hard work by scientists and conservationists, the pelican has made an amazing recovery. On Friday, the Interior Department announced a plan to remove the pelican from the endangered species list. UC Davic ecotoxicologist Daniel Anderson agrees with the de-listing, but still warns that "Just because it's not endangered anymore doesn't mean it's any less important," Anderson said. "Children should always look at the pelican and say, 'There's a special bird.' ".

Source: LA Times