During a special event held in Louisiana, also known as "the pelican state" and a major contributor to the bird's recovery, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced the Service is proposing to remove the pelican from the list of threatened and endangered species.

"Thanks to decades of coordinated efforts on the part of state and federal agencies, conservation organizations and private landowners, the pelican has rebounded to historic levels," said Interior Secretary Kempthorne.

In southwest Texas, the Texas Park and Wildlife Department, the Nature Conservancy and numerous conservation organizations helped purchase important nesting sites and develop monitoring programs to pelican rookeries were thriving.

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Click here for a Brown Pelican Fact Sheet.