Another success story which brings hope to other endangered species. The brown pelican, a bird I see every single day and the state bird of Louisiana, has recovered from being on the list for about four decades. Interior Department officials met in Louisiana yesterday, November 11, at Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. They declared that the bird no longer needed protection as the species had fully recovered.
The brown pelican has had a long history of endangerment. It started with hunters that prized the feathers, then DDT came along and decimated the population of many species not just the brown pelican, then Gulf oil spills, and strong Gulf hurricanes like Katrina. The professor that taught me to bird said that when she first moved to Galveston that there had hardly been any brown pelicans. Now, they are all over and even outnumber the American white pelicans that come during the winter. They are the epitome of species success stories.
Currently, there are about 650,000 brown pelicans residing in the United States. This recovery proves that the Endangered Species Act does work. Healthy coasts are a benefit not only to birds and animals alike, but humans also. People need to remember this when they just throw their garbage on the ground. Being removed from the list only means that agencies do not need to think about their impact on brown pelican populations, but that the species will still be monitored.
I truly hope to see more successes like these in the coming years as people are more aware of what is happening to the environment and to species that we see nearly every day.
