The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has removed the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife due to recovery, effective December 17, 2009. The FWS decision is based on a review of the available data, which indicates that the species is no longer in danger of extinction, or likely to become so within the foreseeable future. The species was first listed as endangered in 1970, under a law that preceded the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The brown pelican will remain protected under the provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. For more information, visit the FWS Brown Pelican Species Profile page.
