In a Wednesday announcement made by the officials with the US Department of the Interior, and the Senator Mary Landrieu, the federal list of endangered species will no longer feature the brown pelican, as it has been recovered from 'near extinction' category.

The announcement was made at Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Lacombe. Sam Hamilton, Director of US Fish and Wildlife Services, said that though the brown pelican can also be found across Florida, and the Gulf and Pacific coasts, the announcement was made in the Pelican State because the brown pelican is the Louisiana's state bird.

Noting that the brown pelican is officially back from the verge of extinction, a situation that it has been facing ever since the pesticide threats in the 1970s, Interior officials said that there are presently over 650,000 brown pelicans, as compared to the earlier number of only 10,000.

The officials further said that along with the extensive use of pesticides, the widespread loss of coastal habitat also contributed to the brown pelican's decline.

Saying that it was in 1970 that the brown pelican was first declared endangered under the Endangered Species Preservation Act, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar remarked: "It has taken 36 years, the banning of (pesticide) DDT and a lot of work ... but today we can say that the brown pelican is back!"