# Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Petition Finding and Proposed Rule To Remove the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

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URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3AE8-2829

## Record

- **Collection:** Federal Register
- **Document type:** Proposed Rule
- **Published:** February 20, 2008
- **Citation:** 73 FR 9408

## Text

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
[FWS-R2-ES-2008-0025; 92220-1113-0000-C6]
RIN 1018-AV28
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Petition Finding and Proposed Rule To Remove the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Proposed rule and notice of petition finding.

SUMMARY:

Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to remove the brown pelican (
Pelecanus occidentalis
) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife (List) due to recovery. This action is based on a review of the best available scientific and commercial data, which indicates that the species is no longer in danger of extinction, or likely to become so within the foreseeable future. If this proposal is finalized, the brown pelican will remain protected under the provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This document also constitutes our 12-month finding on a petition to delist the brown pelican subspecies that occurs along the Pacific Coast of California and Mexico, including the Gulf of California, and a petition to delist the Louisiana population of the brown pelican.

DATES:

We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before April 21, 2008. We must receive requests for public hearings, in writing, at the address shown in the
ADDRESSES
section by April 7, 2008.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit written comments and materials to us by any one of the following methods:

•
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

•
U.S. mail or hand-delivery:
Public Comments Processing,
Attn:
RIN 1018-AV28; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222; Arlington, VA 22203.

We will not accept e-mail or faxes. We will post all comments on
http://www.regulations.gov.
This generally means that we will post any personal information you provide us (see the Public Comments section below for more information).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Austin Ecological Services Office, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200, Austin, TX 78758; telephone 512/490-0057, extension 248; fascimilie 512/490-0974.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Comments Solicited

We intend for any final action resulting from this proposal to be as accurate as possible. Therefore, we solicit data, comments, or suggestions from the public, other concerned government agencies, the scientific community, industry, Tribes, or any other interested party concerning this proposed rule. We particularly seek comments and information concerning: (1) Information about any threat (or lack thereof) to the brown pelican; (2) additional information concerning the range, distribution, location of any additional populations, and population size of this species; (3) information on habitat destruction and/or preservation in relation to brown pelicans; (4) impacts to the species from commercial fisheries outside of the U.S.; (5) current or planned activities in the species' habitat and the possible impacts to this species; (6) data on population trends; (7) data on the status of brown pelicans in the West Indies; (8) data suggesting that any of the subspecies of brown pelican require protection; and (9) information pertaining to the requirement for post delisting monitoring. In addition, because we have received information indicating that one of the subspecies of brown pelican discussed in this proposal,
Pelecanus occidentalis thagus
, may be considered a full species, we request any additional information regarding brown pelican taxonomy. Please note that as we make our determination, we will note but not consider comments merely stating support or opposition to the actions under our consideration without providing supporting information because section 4(b)(1)(A) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.
) directs that we make determinations as to whether any species is a threatened or endangered species “solely on the basis of the best scientific and commercial data available.”

You may submit your comments and materials concerning this proposed rule by one of the methods listed in the
ADDRESSES
section. Comments must be submitted to
http://www.regulations.gov
before midnight (Eastern Standard Time) on the date specified in the
DATES
section. We will not accept comments sent by e-mail or fax or to an address not listed in the
ADDRESSES
section. We will not accept anonymous comments; your comment must include your first and last name, city, State, country, and postal (zip) code. Finally, we will not consider hand-delivered comments that we do not receive, or mailed comments that are not postmarked, by the date specified in the
DATES
section.

We will post your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—on
http://www.regulations.gov.
If you provide personal identifying information in addition to the required items specified in the previous paragraph, such as your street address, phone number, or e-mail address, you may request at the top of your document that we withhold this information from public review. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting documentation we used in preparing this proposed rule, will be available for public inspection on
http://www.regulations.gov,
or by appointment, during normal business hours, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Austin Ecological Services Office (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
).

The Act provides for a public hearing on this proposed delisting, if requested. Requests must be received within 45 days of the date of publication of this proposal. Such requests must be made in writing and addressed to Adam Zerrenner, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Austin Ecological Services Office (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
).

Background

Currently listed brown pelican populations occur in primarily coastal marine and estuarine (where fresh and salt water intermingle) environments along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico from Mississippi to Texas; along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia, Canada, south through Mexico into Central and South America; and in the West Indies, but are occasionally sighted throughout the U.S. (Shields 2002, pp. 2-4). Brown pelicans remain in residence throughout the breeding range, but some segments of many populations migrate annually after breeding (Shields 2002, p. 6). Overall, the brown pelican still occurs throughout its historical range (Shields 2002, pp. 4-5). This proposed rule includes relevant biological and life history information for the brown pelican. However, additional information about the brown pelican's

biology and life history can be found in the Birds of North America, No. 609 (Shields 2002, pp. 1-36).

The species
Pelecanus occidentalis
is generally recognized as consisting of six subspecies: (1)
P. o. occidentalis
(Linnaeus, 1766: West Indies and the Caribbean Coast of South America, occasionally wanders to coasts of Mexico and Florida), (2)
P. o. carolinensis
(Gmelin, 1798: Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States and Mexico; Caribbean Coast of Mexico south to Venezuela, South America; Pacific Coast from southern Mexico to northern Peru, South America), (3)
P. o. californicus
(Ridgeway, 1884: California south to Colima, Mexico, including Gulf of California), (4)
P. o. urinator
(Wetmore, 1945: Galapagos Islands), (5)
P. o. murphyi
(Wetmore, 1945: Ecuador and Pacific Coast of Colombia), and (6)
P. o. thagus
(Molina, 1782: Peru and Chile). Recognition of brown pelican subspecies is based largely on relative size and color of plumage and soft parts (for example, the bill, legs, and feet). The distributional limits of the brown pelican subspecies are poorly known, so the geographic descriptions of their ranges are approximate and may not be adequate to assign subspecies designations. Taxonomy of the brown pelican subspecies has not been critically reviewed for many years, and the classification followed by the American Ornithological Union (AOU 1957, pp. 29-30) and by Palmer (1962, pp. 274-276) is based on Wetmore's (1945, pp. 577-586) review, which was based on few specimens from a limited portion of the range. This proposed delisting rule applies to the entire listed species, which includes all brown pelican (
Pelecanus occidentalis
) subspecies.

For a review of the brown pelican's status, see the “Population Estimates” section below. For a review of the threats in relation to the species status, see the “Summary of Factors Affecting the Species” section below.

Previous Federal Action

Due to population declines of brown pelicans, in 1970, we listed the species as endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-135, 83 Stat. 275). Brown pelicans were included in the List of Threatened and Endangered Foreign Species on June 2, 1970 (35 FR 8495), and included in the United States list of endangered and threatened species on October 13, 1970 (35 FR 16047). The species was subsequently listed under the Endangered Species Act (Act) of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.
).

On February 4, 1985, the Service delisted the brown pelican in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and points northward along the Atlantic Coast (50 FR 4938). However, the brown pelican continued to be listed as endangered throughout the remainder of its range, including Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, California, Mexico, Central and South America, and the West Indies.

On July 5, 1994, we received a petition dated February 21, 1994, from Joe L. Herring, Secretary, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, State of Louisiana, requesting the Service remove the brown pelican from the List in Louisiana. The petition contained information on successful pelican reintroductions, colony expansions, population numbers, and productivity in Louisiana. We were not able to act on the request, since the processing of delisting actions was assigned the lowest priority in the allocation of available funding appropriations, as described in the
Federal Register
(61 FR 64475; December 5, 1996). In 1999, delisting actions were moved from the Service's listing program to the recovery program, allowing us to address requests and petitions to downlist and delist species. This proposed rule constitutes our 90-day and 12-month findings for the Louisiana petition to delist the brown pelican.

On December 14, 2005, we received a petition from Craig Harrison, of the law firm Hutton and Williams, representing the Endangered Species Recovery Council, to remove the California brown pelican, the subspecies of brown pelican occurring along the Pacific Coast of California and Mexico, including the Gulf of California, from the List. We note that the taxon on the List is
Pelecanus occidentalis
, and the petition is specifically for the delisting of the California brown pelican subspecies,
Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
. The petition contained information on population size, trends, reproduction, and distribution of the California brown pelican, including information on the status and management of the species in Mexico. It contained information on the elimination (e.g., banning of DDT) or management of threats that originally resulted in the brown pelican being listed as endangered. On May 24, 2006 (71 FR 29908), we published a notice announcing our 90-day finding for the petition, in which we concluded that the petition presented substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. We then initiated a 12-month status review of the California brown pelican to determine if delisting under the Act is warranted. This proposed rule constitutes our 12-month finding for the petition to delist the California brown pelican.

On May 24, 2006, we also published a notice announcing initiation of a 5-year review on the rangewide status of the brown pelican (71 FR 29908). Under the Act, we are required to review listed species at least once every 5 years and determine whether or not any species should be removed from the List, or reclassified from endangered to threatened or from threatened to endangered. The conclusion of this review, which was based on the best available scientific information, indicates the currently listed brown pelican population does not meet the definition of an endangered or threatened species under the Act (Service 2007a, p. 46).

Distribution and Population Estimates

Information on population estimates below is arranged geographically for convenience and to present a logical organization of the information. These broad geographic areas do not necessarily represent populations or other biologically based groupings. The six subspecies described above are not used to organize the following information because distributional limits of the subspecies are poorly known, especially in Central and South America, and because the broad overlap in wintering and breeding ranges among the subspecies introduces considerable uncertainty in assigning subspecies designations in portions of the species range (Shields 2002, p.5). Because the brown pelican is a wide-ranging, mobile species, is migratory throughout much of its range, and may shift its breeding or wintering areas or distribution in response to local conditions, it is difficult to define local populations of the species. Much of the population estimate information below is given at the scale of individual countries, which may not correspond with actual biological populations, particularly for smaller countries that may represent only a fraction of the species' range. Direct comparison of all the estimates provided below is difficult because methods used to derive population estimates are not always reported, some population estimates are given as broad ranges, and some do not specify whether the estimates are for breeding birds or include non-breeding birds as well. However, the information does indicate the broad distribution of the species and reflects the large global population estimate of over 620,000 birds, which does not include birds along the Atlantic coast of the U.S.,

Florida or Alabama (Service 2007a, pp. 44-45).

Gulf of Mexico Coast

Mississippi—Brown pelicans are currently not known to breed in Mississippi, but the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) has documented brown pelicans annually in Mississippi since 1999 (GBBC 2007, pp. 1-9). In 2003 and 2004, 244 and 261 pelicans, respectively, were counted. There was an increase to 403 pelicans in 2005, but a large decrease to 54 in 2006 (GBBC 2007, pp. 5-8), which coincides with Hurricane Katrina. However, in 2007, 334 brown pelicans were documented (GBBC 2007, p. 9).

Louisiana—Before 1920, brown pelicans were estimated to have numbered between 50,000 and 85,000 in Louisiana (King
et al.
1977a, pp. 417, 419). By 1963, the brown pelican had completely disappeared from Louisiana (Williams and Martin 1968, p. 130). A reintroduction program was conducted between 1968 and 1980. During this period, 1,276 nestling brown pelicans were transplanted from colonies in Florida to coastal Louisiana (McNease
et al.
1984, p. 169). After the initiation of the reintroduction, the population reached a total number of 16,405 successful nests and 34,641 young produced in 2001 (Holm
et al.
2003, p. 432). In 2003 the number of nesting colonies increased, but numbers of successful nests decreased to 13,044 due to four severe storms that eroded portions of some nest islands and destroyed some late nests in various colonies (Hess and Linscombe 2003, Table 2). According to surveys conducted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), the population appeared to recover from these impacts and a peak of 16,501 successful nests producing 39,021 fledglings was recorded in 2004 (LDWF 2006, p. 1; Hess and Linscombe 2006, p. 13). However, tropical storms in 2004 resulted in the loss of three nesting islands east of the Mississippi River and, after storm events in late 2005, LDWF surveys detected 25,289 fledglings (Hess and Linscombe 2006, p. 13). Surveys in 2006 detected 8,036 successful nests in 15 colonies, producing 17,566 fledglings with an average of 2.1 fledglings per successful nest (Hess and Linscombe 2007, p. 1, 4). Hess and Linscombe (2007, p. 4) concluded that the brown pelican population in Louisiana is maintaining sustained growth despite lower fledgling production in 2005 and 2006. Numbers of successful nests are not directly comparable to numbers of individuals in historic estimates because they do not account for immature or non-breeding individuals or provide an index of population size in years when breeding success is low due to factors such as weather and food availability. However, numbers of successful nests and fledglings produced annually since 1993 (Hess and Linscombe 2007, p. 4) do indicate continued nesting and successful fledging of young sufficient to sustain a viable population in Louisiana. See “Storm effects, weather and erosion impacts to habitat” under Factor A for further discussion of effects of storms.

Texas—Brown pelicans historically numbered around 5,000 in Texas but began to decline in the 1920s and 1930s, presumably due to shooting and destruction of nests (King
et al.
1977a, p. 419). According to King
et al.
(1977a, p. 422), there were no reports of brown pelicans nesting in Texas in 1964 or 1966. There were two known nesting attempts in 1965, but the success of these nests is not known. Annual aerial and ground surveys of traditional nesting colonies conducted in Texas during the period 1967 to 1974 indicated that only two to seven pairs attempted to breed in each of these years. Only 40 young were documented fledging during this entire 8-year period (King
et al.
1977a, p. 422).

The Texas Colonial Waterbird Census has tracked population trends in Texas for the brown pelican since 1973 (Service 2006, p. 5). Although the Texas population of brown pelicans did not experience the total reproductive failure recorded in Louisiana, the first year (1973) of information from the Texas census identified only one nesting colony with six breeding pairs in the State. Since that time, there was a gradual increase through 1993 when there were 530 breeding pairs in two nesting colonies; in 1994, there was a substantial increase to 1,751 breeding pairs in three nesting colonies (Service 2006, pp. 3-5). Since then, the overall increasing trend has continued with some year-to-year variation (Service 2006, p. 2-3). The highest count was in 2005 with 4,097 breeding pairs in 12 colonies (Service 2006, p. 2). This number equates to 8,194 breeding birds, which is substantially greater than historical population estimates for Texas. Numbers declined slightly in 2006 to 3,801 breeding pairs in six nesting colonies (7,602 breeding birds) (Service 2006, p. 2), possibly due to hurricanes in 2005 (see discussion of storm effects under Factor A), but they remained above historical estimates. The 2006 census numbers may be low because survey data appear to be missing for Sundown Island, which traditionally supports a large brown pelican breeding colony. There were 1,676 breeding pairs nesting at Sundown Island in 2007 (Erfling 2007a, p. 1;
http://www.sundownisland.org/default.htm
), which is comparable to the number breeding there in 2005 (Service 2006, p. 2).

Gulf Coast of Mexico—Very little information is available about the status of the brown pelican along the Gulf Coast in Mexico. Aerial surveys indicated that brown pelicans in Mexico were virtually absent as a breeding species along the Gulf of Mexico north of Veracruz by 1968 (Service 1979, p. 10). An aerial survey along this same stretch of coast conducted in March 1986 counted 2,270 birds, down from 4,250 birds estimated in counts conducted between December 1979 and January 1980 (Blankinship 1987, p. 2). However, the counts in 1986 and in 1980 differed in the areas covered and timing of counts and represent only two data points, so it is difficult to compare the earlier and later counts. No recent information for this portion of the species' range was found, so no conclusions on population trends of the brown pelican for the Mexican portion of the Gulf Coast can be drawn.

Summary of Gulf of Mexico Coast—Along the U.S. Gulf Coast, brown pelican populations, while experiencing some periodic or local declines, have increased dramatically from a point of near disappearance in the 1960s and 70s. Brown pelicans were present along the Gulf Coast of Mexico in 1986, but we currently lack recent information on the status of the species in this portion of its range.

West Indies

Van Halewyn and Norton (1984, p. 201) summarized the breeding distribution of brown pelicans throughout the Caribbean region and noted at least 23 sites where the species was reliably reported nesting in the islands of the West Indies at some time since 1950. Based on the most recent estimates available at the time, van Halewyn and Norton (1984, p. 201) documented more than 2,000 breeding pairs throughout the West Indies. More recently, Collazo
et al.
(2000, p. 42) estimated the minimum number of brown pelicans throughout the West Indies at 1,500 breeding pairs. Raffaele
et al.
(1998, pp. 224-225) describe the brown pelican as “A common year-round resident in the southern Bahamas, Greater Antilles and locally in the northern Lesser Antilles east to Montserrat. It is common to rare through the rest of the West Indies with some birds wandering between islands.

Migrants that breed in North America augment local numbers primarily from November to February.”

In a search for additional seabird breeding colonies in the Lesser Antilles, Collier
et al.
(2003, pp. 112-113) did not find brown pelicans nesting on Anguilla, Saba, and Dominica. In an attempt to survey seabirds in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Hayes (2002, p. 51) found brown pelicans in the central Grenadines. He notes that brown pelicans were once considered common in the Grenadines and suggests that a small nesting colony may exist there, although there is no historic record of nesting.

St. Maarten—Collier
et al.
(2003, p. 113) reported finding two nesting colonies on St. Maarten Island in 2001, with a total of 64 nesting pairs, but found no breeding pelicans at one site in 2002. Reasons for the lack of breeding activity in 2002 are unknown, although Collier
et al.
(2003, p. 113) suggested a disturbance event could have been the cause. The May 2006 newsletter for the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds, 2006) notes that St. Maarten's proposed Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of Fort Amsterdam and Pelikan Key host regionally important populations of nesting brown pelicans, although numbers of nesting birds are not given.

Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands—Collazo
et al.
(1998, pp. 63-64) compared demographic parameters between 1980-82 and 1992-95 for brown pelicans in Puerto Rico. The mean number of individuals observed during winter aerial population surveys between 1980 and 1982 was 2,289, while mean winter counts from 1992 to 1995 averaged only 593 birds (Collazo
et al.
1998, p. 63). Reasons for the decrease in number of wintering birds between the two periods are not known; however, migrational shifts could have contributed to the decrease in winter counts between survey periods (Collazo
et al.
1998, p. 63). The number of nests observed at the selected study sites did not show such an appreciable decline during the same period for Puerto Rico and the nearby U.S. Virgin Islands, with nest counts ranging from 167 to 250 during 1980 to 1982, compared with 222 and 256 during 1992 to 1993 (Collazo
et al.
1998, p. 64). Collazo
et al.
(2000, p. 42) estimated approximately 120-200 nesting pairs in Puerto Rico and 300-350 nesting pairs in the U.S. Virgin Islands. See “Human disturbance of nesting pelicans” under Factor A below for discussions of possible reasons for decline.

Cuba—Acosta-Cruz and Mugica-Valdés (2006, pp. 10, 65) reported that brown pelicans are a common resident species, with the population augmented by migrants during the winter. Brown pelicans have been documented nesting at five sites in the Archipiélago Sabana-Camagüey and in the Refugio de Fauna Río Máximo (Acosta-Cruz and Mugica-Valdés 2006, pp. 32-33). The number of nesting pairs at Refugio de Fauna Río Máximo was estimated at 16-36 pairs during monitoring in 2001 and 2002 (Acosta-Cruz and Mugica-Valdés 2006, p. 33). No estimates were given for other nesting sites. Acosta-Cruz and Mugica-Valdés (2006, p. 65) estimate the population of brown pelicans in Cuba falls within the range on 1,000 to 4,999 birds and that the population trend is stable.

Summary of West Indies—Although we do not have detailed information on brown pelicans throughout the islands of the West Indies, the distribution of current breeding colonies reported by Collazo
et al.
(2000, p. 42) is similar to that reported by van Halewyn and Norton (1984, pp. 174-175, 201). Estimates of number of breeding pairs differ between the two reports but the studies differed somewhat in the sites reported and neither provided detailed methods for their estimates. Neither Collazo
et al.
(2000, p. 63) nor van Halewyn and Norton (1984, pp.174-175, 201) provided estimates for birds nesting in Cuba, but Acosta-Cruz and Mugica-Valdés (2006, p. 65) estimate the population in Cuba falls within the range on 1,000 to 4,999 birds.

Caribbean and Atlantic Coast of Mexico, Central and South America

No comprehensive population estimates for the Caribbean and Atlantic Coasts of Central and South America are available to our knowledge, although some estimates for other portions of the species' range include birds that nest on the mainland coast or offshore islands (e.g., van Halewyn and Norton's estimate of 6200 pairs in the Caribbean included birds nesting on the mainland and offshore islands of Colombia and Venezuela (1984, p. 201)).

Mexico—Isla Contoy Reserva Especial de la Biosfera off the coast of Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico, was the site of Mexico's largest brown pelican nesting colony in 1986, with 300 nesting pairs (Blankinship 1987, p. 2). By the spring of 1996, 700 to 1,000 pairs of brown pelicans were estimated to be nesting on Isla Contoy (Shields 2002, p. 35). Four other colonies in this region accounted for 128 nesting pairs in 1986 (Blankinship 1987, p. 2).

Belize—Miller and Miller (2006, pp. 7, 64) analyzed Christmas Bird Count data collected in Belize from 1969-2005 and reported that brown pelican numbers over this period have remained about the same. References compiled and summarized by Miller and Miller (pp. 144-149) variously report brown pelicans as: “Common: high density, likely to be seen many places,” “Transient, present briefly as migrant,” “Resident, species present all year,” “apparently secure in Belize.” Brown pelicans are also reported in one reference as nesting on several cays, but no information on number of nesting birds or locations are given.

Guatemala—Brown pelicans in Guatemala are considered to be a breeding resident (Eisermann 2006, p. 55), although locations of nesting sites and number of breeding pairs are not given. Eisermann (2006, p. 65) estimated the Caribbean slope population of brown pelicans in Guatemala to consist of approximately 376 birds.

Honduras—Thorn
et al
(2006, p. 29) report brown pelicans nesting on the Caribbean coast of Honduras and offshore islands. Brown pelicans are reported as a common resident in Honduras, with numbers estimated to range between 10,000 and 25,000 birds and a stable population trend (Thorn
et al.
2006, p. 20).

Nicaragua—Zolotoff-Pallais and Lezama (2006, p. 74) report that the number of brown pelicans within Nicaragua falls within the range 1001-5000 and is stable, although they do not indicate whether this estimate represents only breeding birds.

Costa Rica—Brown pelicans are considered a resident species in Costa Rica, but are not reported nesting on Caribbean coast of Costa Rica (Quesada 2006, pp. 9, 46).

Panama—Brown pelicans primarily nest in the Gulf of Panama on the Pacific coast with no nesting reported on the Caribbean coast (Angehr 2005, pp. 15-16). However, brown pelicans do winter along the Caribbean coast of Panama. In 1993 in Panama, 582 brown pelicans were counted (Shields 2002, p. 22) along the Caribbean coast, and Angehr (2005, p. 79) considers brown pelicans to be a “fairly common migrant” along the Caribbean coast.

Colombia—Moreno and Buelvas (2005, p. 57) report that brown pelicans occur at four sites on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, with a good population of brown pelicans in the Humedales costeros de La Guajira (coastal wetlands of La Guajira). However, no estimate of numbers of breeding birds was given.

Venezuela—Based on aerial surveys of the Venezuelan coast, Guzman and Schreiber (1987, p. 278) estimated a population size of 17,000 brown pelicans in 25 colonies. Within those breeding colonies, 3,369 nests were counted (Guzman and Schreiber 1987, p. 278). More recently, Rodner (2006, p. 9) confirms that there are approximately 25 brown pelican colonies in Venezuela. Rodner (2006, p. 9) does not give an overall estimate of the brown pelican population in Venezuela but notes more than 1700 nests have been documented in four of the largest breeding colonies, while another recent census of four sites resulted in counts of 2,097 pelicans.

South of Venezuela, brown pelicans are reported as a non-breeding migrant in Guyana (Johnson 2006, p. 5), French Guiana (Delelis and Pracontal 2006, p. 57), Surinam (Haverschmidt 1949, p. 77; Ottema 2006, p. 3), and Brazil (De Luca
et al.
2006, pp. 3, 40)

Summary of the Caribbean/Atlantic Coast—In general, brown pelicans are broadly distributed on the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts of southern Mexico and Central and South America and are still present throughout their historic range.

California and Pacific Coast of Northern Mexico

The most recent population estimate of the brown pelican subspecies that ranges from California to Mexico along the Pacific Coast is approximately 71,200 nesting pairs, which equates to 142,400 breeding birds (Henny and Anderson 2007, p. 9). They nest in four distinct geographic areas: (1) The Southern California Bight (SCB), which includes southern California and northern Baja California, Mexico; (2) southwest Baja California; (3) the Gulf of California, which includes coastlines of both Baja California and Sonora, Mexico; and (4) mainland Mexico further south along the Pacific coastline (including Sinaloa and Nayarit) (Service 1983, p. 8).

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the SCB population declined to fewer than 1,000 pairs and reproductive success was nearly zero (Anderson
et al.
1975, p. 807). In 2006, approximately 11,695 breeding pairs were documented at 10 locations in the SCB: 3 locations on Anacapa Island, 1 on Prince Island, and 1 on Santa Barbara Island in California; 3 on Coronados Islands, 1 on Islas Todos Santos, and 1 on Isla San Martín in Mexico within the SCB (Henny and Anderson 2007, p. 9; Gress 2007). The populations on Todos Santos and San Martín islands were previously extirpated in 1923 and 1974, respectively; however, these were recently found to be occupied (Gress
et al.
2005, pp. 20-25). Todos Santos Island had about 65 nests in 2004, but there were no nests in 2005. This colony is currently considered to be ephemeral, occurring some years and then not others (Gress
et al.
2005, p. 28). At San Martín Island, 35 pairs were reported in 1999, a small colony was noted in 2000, and 125-200 pairs were seen in 2002, 2003, and 2004 (Gress
et al.
2005, pp. 20-25).

The southwest Baja California coastal population has about 3,650 breeding pairs, the Gulf of California population is estimated at 42,970 breeding pairs, and the mainland Mexico population has about 12,880 breeding pairs (Anderson 2007b; Henny and Anderson 2007, p. 9). The Gulf of California population remained essentially the same from 1970 to 1988 (Everett and Anderson 1991, p. 125). It is thought that populations in Mexico have been stable since the early 1970s (when long-term studies began) because of their lower exposure to DDT, although annual numbers at individual colonies fluctuate widely due to prey availability and human disturbance at colonies (Everett and Anderson 1991, p. 133).

Summary of California and Pacific Coast of Northern Mexico—Henny and Anderson (2007, p. 1, 8) concluded that their preliminary estimates of nesting pairs in 2006 suggest a large and healthy total breeding population for California and the Pacific coast of Mexico.

Pacific Coast of Central America and South America

As with the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts of Central and South America, there are no comprehensive population estimates for brown pelicans along this portion of their range.

Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua—Brown pelicans are considered a non-breeding visitor on the Pacific slope of Guatemala (Eisermann 2006, p. 4) with an estimated abundance of 2,118 birds. About 800 brown pelicans are widely distributed along the Pacific Coast of El Salvador (Ibarra Portillo 2006, p. 2). However, Herrera
et al.
(2006, p. 44) reported brown pelicans to be a non-breeding visitor in El Salvador with numbers falling within the range 1,001-10,000 and an increasing trend. Brown pelicans occur on the Pacific Coast of Honduras but are not reported to nest there (Thorn
et al.
2006, p. 26, 29). Zolotoff-Pallais and Lezama (2006, p. 74) report that the number of brown pelicans within Nicaragua falls within the range 1,001-5,000, but do not indicate locations or breeding status.

Costa Rica—The Costa Rican Ministry for Environment and Energy has reported that several breeding colonies exist on the Pacific Coast from the Nicaraguan border to the Gulf of Nicoya and include the islands of Bolaños and Guayabo (Service 2007a, p. 13). Shields (2002, p. 35) estimated as many as 850 pairs in Costa Rica. However, Quesada (2006, p. 37) estimated the brown pelican population in Costa Rica to fall within the range 10,000-25,000 birds with a stable population trend.

Panama—Estimates of brown pelicans in Panama have varied greatly over the years. In 1981 Batista and Montgomery (1982, p. 70) estimated that 25,500 adults and chicks were known to occur on just the Pearl Island Archipelago in the Gulf of Panama. In 1982 Montgomery and Murcia (1982, p. 69) estimated 70,000 adults occurred at 7 colonies within the Gulf of Panama. By 1988, 6,031 brown pelicans were known from just the Gulf, while in 1998, only 3,017 brown pelicans were thought to occur along the entire Pacific Coast of Panama, including the Gulf (Shields 2002, p. 22). By 2005, 4,877 brown pelican nests were reported just in the Gulf of Panama and a total population was estimated to be about 15,000 individuals for the entire Pacific Coast of Panama, which includes 1,976 nest numbers from Coiba Island (Angehr 2005, p. 6). Angehr (2005, p. 12) also reported that those individual colonies that had been studied experienced an overall increase of 70 percent in nest numbers from 1979 to 2005, and describes the brown pelican on the Pacific Coast of Panama as an “abundant breeder.”

Colombia—Moreno and Buelvas (2005 p. 57) list brown pelicans as occurring at three protected sites on the Pacific coast of Colombia: Malpelo Island, Gorgona Island, and Sanquianga. Naranjo
et al.
(2006b, p. 178) estimated 2,000-4,000 brown pelicans at Sanquianga on the mainland and 4,800-5,200 on Gorgona Island. Brown pelicans were considered to be one of the most abundant resident species in a 1996-1998 assessment of waterbird populations on the Pacific Coast of Colombia (Naranjo
et al.
2006a, p. 181). Naranjo
et al.
(2006b, p. 179) concluded that preliminary results of their waterbird monitoring program on the Pacific coast of Colombia indicate that populations of Pelecaniformes (which include brown pelicans) in the three protected areas are stable.

Ecuador—On Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, Shields (2002, p. 35) cites reports of a few thousand pairs. Delaney and Scott (2002, p. 29) estimated the population on the Galapagos to be 5,000

birds. Santander
et al.
(2006, p. 44, 49) reported that brown pelicans in the Galapagos number less than 10,000 and are considered common there, while populations on the mainland range from 25,000 to 100,000. The Ministerio del Ambiente of Ecuador has reported that nesting brown pelicans are widely distributed and fairly common along the mainland coast of that country (Rojas 2006).

Peru—Shields (2002, p. 22) summarizes estimates of brown pelicans in Peru at 420,000 adults in 1981-1982, 110,000 in 1982-1983, 620,000 in 1985-1986, and 400,000 in 1996. Franke (2006, p. 10) reported that a 1997 survey of guano birds counted 140,000 brown pelicans with an increasing population trend reported; however, it is unclear whether that number represents a total estimate of the brown pelican population in Peru or a subset of birds nesting on islands managed for guano production.

Chile—The range of brown pelicans in Chile extends from the extreme northern city of Arica (Rodríguez 2006) to occasionally as far south as Isla Chiloé (Aves de Chile 2006, p. 1). The total population size for Chile is unknown (Shields 2002, p. 35). The breeding population on Isla Pájaro Niño in central Chile was 2,699 pairs in 1995-1996, 1,032 pairs in 1996-1997, and none during the 1997-1998 El Niño year (Simeone and Bernal 2000, p. 453).

Two sightings of brown pelicans in Argentina in 1993 and 1999 are considered “hypothetical” records because they are not documented by specimens, photographs, or other concrete evidence (Lichtschein 2006).

Summary of Pacific Coast of Central and South America—Brown pelicans are abundant breeders along the Pacific coast of Central and South America.

Summary—Global Population Estimates

Population estimates for various States, regions, and countries reviewed above are not strictly comparable because they were not made using any standard protocol or methodology, and in many cases the process by which the estimates were developed is not described. While in some cases these estimates may be reliable in describing local abundance and trends, because of their incomparability, they have limited value in estimating absolute size or trends in the global population. However, because these estimates are the best available information, we attempted to use some conservative assumptions in tabulating these data in order to make a conservative estimate of the global population size of the brown pelican (Service 2007a, pp. 43-45 and 60-62). This total, or global estimate, is for the listed brown pelican, which does not include the Atlantic coast of the U.S., Florida, and Alabama. The total based on regional estimates is over 620,000 individuals, which includes an estimated 400,000 pelicans from Peru (Service 2007a, pp. 43-45 and 60-62). This is likely a conservative estimate given that estimates for some countries given above (for example, estimates for Colombia and Cuba) were not readily available at the time we conducted our 5-year review. Other recent estimates yield similar numbers. Kushlan
et al.
's (2002, p. 64) estimate for the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan area, which includes Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and Caribbean islands of Venezuela, was 191,600-193,700 breeders. Delaney and Scott (2002, p. 29) applied a correction factor to Kushlan
et al.
's estimate to account for immature birds and non-breeders to estimate a population of 290,000 birds. Neither estimate includes birds on the Pacific Coast of South America. Delaney and Scott (2002, p. 29) additionally estimated the brown pelican population on the Galapagos to be about 5,000 birds, and the population on the Pacific Coast of South America (estimate is for the subspecies
Pelecanus occidentalis thagus
, found in Peru and Chile) to range from 100,000-1,000,000 birds. Shields' (2002, p. 21) population estimate of 202,600-209,000 brown pelicans also did not include the Peruvian subspecies. While each of these estimates covers slightly different areas, they are all in general agreement and indicate that the listed population of brown pelicans, excluding the Peruvian subspecies, totals 200,000 or more individuals, while the Peruvian subspecies numbers in the few hundred thousand.

Recovery Plan

Section 4(f) of the Act directs us to develop and implement recovery plans for listed species. While brown pelicans were listed throughout their range, recovery planning efforts for the brown pelican focused primarily on those portions of the species' range within the United States. We have published three recovery plans for the brown pelican: (1) Recovery Plan for the Eastern Brown Pelican (Service 1979); (2) the California Brown Pelican Recovery Plan (Service 1983); and (3) Recovery Plan for the Brown Pelican in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (Service 1986).

Recovery plans are not regulatory documents and are instead intended to provide guidance to the Service, States, and other partners on methods of minimizing threats to listed species and on criteria that may be used to determine when recovery is achieved. There are many paths to accomplishing recovery of a species and recovery may be achieved without all criteria being fully met. For example, one or more criteria may have been exceeded while other criteria may not have been accomplished. In that instance, the Service may judge that, overall, the threats have been minimized sufficiently and the species is robust enough to justify reclassifying the species from endangered to threatened or perhaps delisting the species. In other cases, recovery opportunities may have been recognized that were not known at the time the recovery plan was finalized. These opportunities may be used instead of methods identified in the recovery plan. Likewise, information on the species may be learned that was not known at the time the recovery plan was finalized. The new information may change the extent that criteria need to be met for recognizing recovery of the species. Overall, recovery of species is a dynamic process requiring adaptive management. Analyzing the degree of recovery of a species is also an adaptive management process that may or may not fully follow the guidance provided in a recovery plan. The following discussion provides a brief review of recovery planning for the brown pelican, as well as an analysis of the recovery criteria and goals as they relate to evaluating the status of the species.

The Recovery Plan for the Eastern Brown Pelican, which includes the delisted populations and the currently listed Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi populations, does not identify recovery criteria because the causes of the species' decline were not well understood at the time the plan was prepared. The recovery team viewed the wide distribution of the species, rather than absolute numbers, as the species' major strength against extinction (Service 1979, p. iv). The recovery plan states a general objective to re-establish brown pelicans on all historically used nesting sites in Louisiana and Texas (Service 1979, p. iii). The plan identified 9 sites in Louisiana and 11 sites in Texas. These included historic, current (at the time of the recovery plan), and restored islands. As of 2005 (prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita), 11 sites in Louisiana were being used for nesting by brown pelicans: Brush Island, Martin Island, North Island, Pelican Point, West Breton Island, Baptiste Collette, Queen Bess Island, Wine Island, Raccoon Island, Rabbit

Island, and Shallow Bayou. This list includes 7 previously unknown sites (Hess and Linscombe 2006, pp. 1-4, 7-8). In 2006, nesting occurred at 15 sites that included the previously mentioned 11. Hurricane-caused habitat degradation forced many birds to seek out new nesting locations including three additional sites in the Pelican Point area, and one on East Queen Bess Island (Hess and Linscombe 2007, pp. 1, 3). As of 2006, 12 sites in Texas were being used for nesting by brown pelicans: Marker 52 Spoil Island, North Deer Island, Evia Island, Sunfish Island, Shamrock Island, Deadman Islands, South Pass Islands A and B, Pelican Island, Sundown Island, Little Pelican Island, and Dressing Point (Service 2006, p. 2). The northern Gulf of Mexico coast is subject to frequent severe tropical storms and hurricanes, which can cause significant changes to brown pelican nesting habitat. Past storms have resulted in changes to or loss of historical nesting sites, but brown pelicans seem well adapted to responding to losses of breeding sites by moving to new locations (Hess and Durham 2002, p. 7; Wilkinson
et al.
1994, p. 425; Williams and Martin 1968, p. 136), and the species has clearly shown its ability to rebound (Williams and Martin 1968, p. 130; Holm
et al.
2003, p. 432; Hess and Linscombe 2006, pp. 5, 13) (see “Storm effects, weather and erosion impacts to habitat” under Factor A for further discussion). While nesting is not occurring on all historically identified sites in Texas and Louisiana, the number of currently used nesting sites meets or exceeds the numbers identified in the recovery plan and support sustainable populations of brown pelicans. Because brown pelicans have demonstrated the ability to move to new breeding locations when a nesting island is no longer suitable, meeting the exact number and location of nesting sites in Texas and Louisiana identified in the recovery plan is not necessary to achieve recovery for the brown pelican. As discussed further below, we also have considered the population's wide distribution, numbers, and productivity, as indicators that the threats have been reduced such that the population is recovered and sustainable.

The Recovery Plan for the Brown Pelican in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands has delisting criteria solely for the area covered by the plan. The criteria are to maintain a 5-year observed mean level of: (1) 2,300 individuals during winter, and (2) 350 breeding pairs at the peak of the breeding season. Both recovery criteria are solely based on demographic characteristics and do not provide an explicit reference point for determining whether threats have been reduced. The levels in the criteria were based on studies of brown pelicans from 1980 to 1983 (Collazo 1985). Subsequent winter counts from 1992 to 1995 in Puerto Rico were 74 percent lower than during 1980-1982 (2,289 compared to 593 individuals). Although the 1992 to 1995 counts did not include the Virgin Islands, it appears likely that the first criterion had not been met as of 1995 (Collazo
et al.
1998). However, reasons for lower counts are unknown. Collazo
et al.
(1998, pp. 63-64) concluded that habitat was not limiting and suggested that migrational shifts could have contributed to the decrease in numbers and that longer term monitoring of at least 6 to 8 years is needed to define an acceptable range of population parameters for brown pelicans in the Caribbean. Collazo et al (1998, p. 64) also concluded that contaminants are not affecting brown pelican reproduction. Thus, while the first criterion, based on 4 years of data, may not be sufficient to establish a realistic figure to reflect recovery, it also does not address whether threats to the species are still present. Also, because the criterion applies to only a small portion of the species' range, as well as only a portion of the species' range in the Caribbean, we do not consider it appropriate for determining whether the brown pelican is recovered globally. The second recovery criterion is the more important of the two as it reflects population productivity. The number of pairs seemed to be holding steady between the early 1980s and the 1990s with estimates given by Collazo
et al.
(2000, p. 42) of 165 pairs for Puerto Rico and 305-345 pairs for the U.S. Virgin Islands. While this estimate is not a 5-year observed mean, the estimated number is consistent with the recovery criterion for number of breeding pairs.

The California Brown Pelican Recovery Plan only covers the California brown pelican subspecies (
P. o. californicus
), which includes the Pacific Coast of California and Mexico, including the Gulf of California. The primary objective of this recovery plan is to restore and maintain stable, self-sustaining populations throughout this portion of the species' range. To accomplish this objective, the recovery plan calls for: (1) Maintaining existing populations in Mexico; (2) assuring long-term protection of adequate food supplies and essential nesting, roosting, and offshore habitat throughout the subspecies' range; and (3) restoring population size and productivity to self-sustaining levels in the SCB at both the Anacapa and Los Coronados Island colonies. Existing populations appear to be stable in Mexico and throughout the subspecies range (Everett and Anderson 1991, p. 133; Henny and Anderson 2007, p. 1, 8), food supplies are assured by the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan, and the majority of essential nesting and roosting habitat throughout the species' range is protected (see “Summary of Factors Affecting the Species” below for further discussion). Therefore, criteria 1 and 2 of the recovery plan have been met.

For population and productivity objectives, the recovery plan included the following additional criterion for the subspecies to be considered for delisting: (a) When any 5-year mean productivity for the SCB population reaches at least 0.7 young per nesting attempt from a breeding population of at least 3,000 pairs, the subspecies should be considered for threatened status; and (b) When any 5-year mean productivity for the SCB population reaches at least 0.9 young per nesting attempt from a breeding population of at least 3,000 pairs. Consideration for reclassification to threatened would require a total production averaging at least 2,100 fledglings per year over any 5-year period. Consideration for delisting would require a total production averaging at least 2,700 fledglings per year over any 5-year period.

The criterion, including both productivity and population size, for downlisting to threatened has been met at least 10 times since 1985. The delisting population criterion of at least 3,000 breeding pairs has been exceeded every year since 1985, with the exception of 1990 and 1992, which saw only 2,825 and 1,752 pairs, respectively. In most years, the nesting population far exceeds the 3,000 pair delisting goal; it has exceeded 6,000 pairs for 10 of the last 15 years (Gress 2005). Additionally, the delisting criterion of at least 2,700 fledglings per year over any 5-year period has been met at least 11 times since 1985 (Gress 2005). However, the productivity criterion for delisting, while it has improved greatly since the time of listing and has neared the criterion for delisting a few times, has not been met, and the SCB population consistently has low productivity, with a mean of 0.63 young fledged per nesting attempt from 1985 to 2005 (Gress and Harvey 2004, p. 20; Gress 2005).

Productivity is an important parameter used for evaluating population health; however, it is difficult to determine an objective and

appropriate minimum value. The 0.9 young per nesting attempt given in the recovery plan was the best estimate based on a review of brown pelican reproductive parameters in Florida and the Gulf of California (Schreiber 1979, p. 1; Anderson and Gress 1983, p. 84), because pre-DDT productivity for the SCB population was unknown. Despite the fact that this goal has not been reached, reproduction has been sufficient to maintain a stable population for over 20 years. Most colonies expanded during this interval, including the long-term colonization of Santa Barbara Island, which suggests that productivity has been sufficient to maintain a stable-to-increasing population. In conclusion, the first two recovery criteria for the California Brown Pelican Recovery Plan have been met. As discussed above, the population component of the third criterion has been far exceeded, while the productivity component has not been met. We have concluded, based on current population size and productivity, that the productivity component of the third criterion is no longer appropriate and that current productivity is sufficient to maintain a viable population of brown pelicans.

Recovery Planning Summary—The three recovery plans for the brown pelican discussed above have not been actively used in recent years to guide recovery of the brown pelican because they are either outdated, lack recovery criteria for the entire species, or in the case of the eastern brown pelican, lack recovery criteria all together. No subsequent revisions have been made to any of these original recovery plans. No single recovery plan covers the entire range of the species, and the remainder of the range outside the U.S., including Central America, South America, and most of the West Indies is not covered by a recovery plan. Thus, these focus areas for recovery, which do not have formal or regulatory distinction, are outdated. Additionally, the recovery criteria in these plans do not specifically address the five threat factors used for listing, reclassifying, or delisting a species as outlined in section 4(a)(1) of the Act. Consequently, the recovery plans do not provide an explicit reference point for determining the appropriate legal status of the brown pelican based either on alleviating the specific factors that resulted in its initial listing as an endangered species or on addressing new risk factors that may have emerged since listing. As noted above, recovery is a dynamic process and analyzing the degree of recovery requires an adaptive process that includes not only evaluating recovery goals and criteria but also new information that has become available. Thus, while some recovery criteria and many of the goals in the three brown pelican recovery plans have been met, our evaluation of the status of the brown pelican in this proposal is based largely on the analysis of threats in our recently completed 5-year review (Service 2007a, pp. 1-66). This review is available at
http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/five_year_review/doc1039.pdf
.

Summary of Factors Affecting the Species

Section 4 of the Act and its implementing regulations (50 CFR part 424) set forth the procedures for listing species, reclassifying species, or removing species from listed status. We may determine a species to be an endangered or threatened species because of one or more of the five factors described in section 4(a)(1) of the Act, and we must consider these same five factors in delisting a species. We may delist a species according to 50 CFR 424.11(d) if the best available scientific and commercial data indicate that the species is neither endangered nor threatened for the following reasons: (1) The species is extinct; (2) The species has recovered and is no longer endangered or threatened (as is the case with the brown pelican); and/or (3) The original scientific data used at the time the species was classified were in error.

A recovered species is one that no longer meets the Act's definition of threatened or endangered. Determining whether a species is recovered requires consideration of the same five categories of threats specified in section 4(a)(1) of the Act. For species that are already listed as threatened or endangered, this analysis of threats is an evaluation of both the threats currently facing the species and the threats that are reasonably likely to affect the species in the foreseeable future after delisting or downlisting and the removal or reduction of the Act's protections.

A species is “endangered” for purposes of the Act if it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a “significant portion of its range” and is “threatened” if it is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a “significant portion of its range.” The word “range” in the “significant portion of its range” (SPR) phrase refers to the range in which the species currently exists. For the purposes of this analysis, we will evaluate whether the currently listed species, the brown pelican, should be considered threatened or endangered. Then we will consider whether there are any portions of brown pelican's range in danger of extinction or likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future.

As discussed below in our analysis of factors affecting the species, we do not foresee any changes in the current protections for brown pelican. For example, we do not expect any significant changes to current non-Endangered Species Act habitat protections, regulations affecting pesticide use and licensing, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, or the global Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. We could consider that many of these protections would remain in place in perpetuity. However, considering this as a timeframe for analysis could introduce a considerable level of uncertainty and it may not be reasonable to assume that we can project an analysis out in perpetuity. Therefore, for the purposes of our analysis, we considered as a lower bound the timeframe over which it would be reasonable to expect population level or demographic effects of threats to be detected and to put the species at risk of becoming endangered. Factors most likely to affect population levels and key demographic characteristics of brown pelicans include those that affect reproduction over a period of several years, and include factors such as disturbance of nest sites, contaminants, and availability of prey. Therefore, for the purposes of this proposed rule, we consider “foreseeable future” for the brown pelican at a minimum to be 30 years, since it is a reasonable timeframe for analysis of factors identified that could affect the species in the future and as they relate to brown pelican biology. While average life spans are not known, fewer than 2 percent are thought to live past 10 years of age, and the oldest known individual was 43 years old (Schreiber and Mock 1988, p. 178). Additionally, since age at first nesting is generally 3 to 5 years (Shields 2002, p. 18), the average brown pelican breeds at 4 years of age, thereby replacing itself within 8 years. Therefore, 30 years, which incorporates one long life cycle and 10 possible generations, represents a reasonable biological timeframe to determine if threats could be significant.

The following analysis examines all five factors currently affecting, or that are likely to affect, the brown pelican distribution that is currently listed within the foreseeable future.

A. The Present or Threatened Destruction, Modification, or Curtailment of Its Habitat or Range

Nesting Habitat

Brown pelicans breed annually from spring to summer above 30 degrees north latitude, annually from winter to spring between 20 and 30 degrees north latitude, and irregularly throughout the year on 8.5- to 10-month cycles below 20 degrees north latitude (Shields 2002, p. 12). Brown pelicans usually breed on small, predator-free coastal islands. Brown pelicans use a wide variety of nesting substrates. Nests are built on the ground when vegetation is not available, but when built in trees, they are about 1.8 meters (m) to 12.2 m (6 to 40 feet (ft)) above the water's surface (McNease
et al.
1992, p. 252; Jiménez 2004, pp. 12-17). Along the Pacific Coast of California south to Baja California and in the Gulf of California, brown pelicans nest on dry, rocky substrates, typically on off-shore islands (Service 1983, pp. 5-6). Along the U.S. Gulf Coast, brown pelicans mainly nest on coastal islands on the ground or in herbaceous plants or low shrubs (Shields 2002, p. 13; Wilkenson
et al.
1994, pp. 421-423), but will use mangrove trees (
Avicennia
spp.) if available (Lowery 1974, p. 127; Blus
et al.
1979a, p. 130). In some areas of the Caribbean, along the Pacific Coast of Mexico, and the Galapagos Islands, mangroves (
Avicennia
spp.,
Rhizophora
spp.,
Launcularia
spp.) are the most common nesting substrate, although other substrates are used as well (Collazo 1985, pp. 106-108; Guzman and Schreiber 1987, p. 276; Service 1983, p. 15; Shields 2002, p. 13). Various types of tropical forests, such as tropical thorn and humid forests, also provide nesting habitat for brown pelicans in southern Mexico, South and Central America, and the West Indies (Collazo 1985, pp. 106-108; Guzman and Schreiber 1987, p. 2). Peruvian brown pelicans (found in Peru and Chile) nest only on the ground (Shields 2002, p. 13).

Nesting habitat destruction from coastal development
. Within the United States, the majority of brown pelican nesting sites are protected through land ownership and protection by conservation organizations and local, State, and Federal agencies. We are not aware of any losses of brown pelican nesting habitat to coastal development within the United States. In countries outside of the United States, some coastal and mangrove habitat used by brown pelicans has been lost to recreational and other coastal developments (Collazo
et al.
1998, pp. 63). Mainland nesting colonies in Sinaloa and Nayarit, Mexico, have been impacted by increasing mariculture (the cultivation of marine life) and agriculture through habitat degradation, disturbance, and some removal of mangrove habitat (Anderson
et al.
2003, p. 1097-1099; Anderson 2007a), although the extent of impacts is unknown. Van Halewyn and Norton (1984, p. 215) cited cutting and loss of mangrove habitat as a threat for seabirds, including brown pelicans, in the Caribbean. Aside from these limited accounts, we are not aware of any significant losses of brown pelican nesting habitat from coastal development anywhere within its range.

Some destruction of current and potential brown pelican nesting habitat is likely to occur in the future. However, a large number of brown pelican nesting sites throughout the species' range are currently protected (see discussion below). In some cases, loss of mangrove habitat has been specifically cited. However, brown pelicans do not nest exclusively in mangroves, they may utilize other nesting substrates, and they readily colonize new nesting sites in response to changing habitat conditions. For example, Collazo
et al.
(1998, p. 63) documented the loss of one nesting site in Puerto Rico, but stated the belief that the pelicans relocated to a new nesting colony nearby (see also discussion of colonization of new sites under “Storm effects, weather and erosion impacts to habitat”). Destruction of nesting habitat is likely to only affect brown pelicans on a local scale where nesting colonies overlap with coastal or mariculture development. In cases where nesting habitat destruction results in the loss of a nesting site, it is likely to be limited to a single season of lost reproduction because birds will likely disperse to other colonies or establish a new colony in a new location. Because numerous brown pelican nesting sites are protected, brown pelicans may relocate to new nesting sites if any unprotected sites are destroyed, and any loss of nesting habitat is likely to result in only limited loss of reproduction that will not affect population levels, we do not believe that habitat destruction currently threatens brown pelicans, nor do we believe it will it become a threat that endangers the brown pelican throughout all of its range in the foreseeable future.

Storm effects, weather and erosion impacts to habitat
. Many nesting islands along the U.S. Gulf Coast have been impacted by wave action, storm surge erosion, and a lack of sediment deposition (McNease and Perry 1998, p. 9), resulting in loss or degradation of nesting habitat. Since 1998, nesting habitat east of the Mississippi River in Louisiana has undergone continual degradation or loss from tropical storms and hurricanes, resulting in a reduced number of successfully reared brown pelican young in this area (Hess and Linscombe 2006, p. 4). In 2003 and 2004, brown pelican nesting and reproduction was distributed approximately equally between areas east and west of the Mississippi River. After tropical storms in 2004, nesting habitat east of the Mississippi River was reduced, resulting in a shift to 95 percent of nesting and reproduction to west of the Mississippi River. In 2005, hurricanes Katrina and Rita resulted in approximately 349 km
2
(217 mi
2
) of coastal land loss (Barras 2006, p. 4). This figure represents total coastal land loss, including interior marshes, and while a figure for loss of barrier islands would be a more appropriate measure of impacts to brown pelicans, we are not aware of any estimates for barrier island loss. While Louisiana's brown pelican nesting islands east of the Mississippi River were reduced by over 70 percent and what remains is vulnerable to overwash from future storm tides, at the time, these islands supported only about 5 percent of the total Louisiana population of brown pelicans (Hess and Linscombe 2006, pp. 3, 6; Harris 2006). Louisiana brown pelican nesting islands west of the Mississippi River, which accounted for 95 percent of the 2005 brown pelican breeding population, were degraded, but still supported the four main nesting colonies (Hess and Linscombe 2006, p. 5) (see discussion of nesting in Louisiana under Distribution and Population Estimate).

In some instances, brown pelicans have responded to losses of breeding sites by dispersing and using other areas (Hess and Durham 2002, p. 7). Hess and Linscombe (2001, p. 5) believe that a shift in nesting from the Baptiste Collette area to Breton Island in Louisiana was the result of high Mississippi River levels and associated muddy water which limited sight feeding. Additionally, two new brown pelican nesting colonies were established between 2000 and 2005 on Baptiste Collette and Shallow Bayou (Hess and Linscombe 2006, p. 5). Wilkinson
et al.
(1994, p. 425) reported the loss of large brown pelican nesting colonies on Deveaux Bank in South Carolina following a hurricane and subsequent movement and use of new nesting locations on that island and on Bird Key Stono. Hess and Linscombe (2001, p. 4) believe that tropical storm and hurricane induced habitat damage to the Chandeleur Islands contributed to

the initial dispersal of pelicans to southwest Louisiana and the formation of a nesting colony on newly created habitat at the Baptiste Collette bar channel.

While pelicans generally exhibit nest site fidelity, in Texas and Louisiana they have established breeding colonies on islands artificially created or enhanced by material dredged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) from nearby ship channels (Hess and Linscombe 2001, pp. 5-6; Hess and Linscombe 2006, p. 5). For example, Little Pelican Island and Alligator Point in Texas are maintained by the disposal of dredged material (Yeargan 2007). The Corps in Louisiana beneficially uses approximately 8.5 million m
3
(11.1 million yds
3
) of dredged material each year in the surrounding environment (Corps 2004, p. xi). For example, dredged material was used to retard erosion and secure Queen Bess Island as brown pelican nesting habitat (McNease
et al.
1994, p. 8). It was also used to restore and enhance brown pelican habitat on Raccoon Island in 1987 and Last Island in 1992 following Hurricane Andrew (McNease and Perry 1998, p. 10; Hess and Linscombe 2001, p. 5). Use of these islands by pelicans demonstrates both the utility of these artificially generated habitats and the pelican's ability to find and establish nesting colonies on them.

While storms in Louisiana and the U.S. Gulf Coast are expected to continue, there are numerous projects that are intended to protect the coast from this land loss. Coastal habitat protection and restoration have been and will continue to be priorities for Louisiana, since coastal land loss has much broader negative implications to the State economy, oil and gas production, navigation security, fisheries and flyways, and strategic petroleum reserves. The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act of 1990 (CWPPRA), which provides Federal grants to acquire, restore, and enhance wetlands of coastal States, is one of the first programs with Federal funds dedicated exclusively to the long term restoration of coastal habitat (104 Stat. 4779). As of April 2006, 10 CWPPRA barrier island restoration projects in Louisiana have been implemented (costing over $75.8 million), with another 9 currently under construction or awaiting construction. Several of these directly enhance or protect current brown pelican nesting habitat (for example, Raccoon Island), while the rest occur on islands that were historically used or could be used for nesting in the future (Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force 2006, p. 13).

Three other plans that may be implemented are Coast 2050 and the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration (LCA) Plan, both related to the CWPPRA, and the Draft Coastal Impact Assistance Plan. Although not yet implemented, Coast 2050 and the LCA plan also focus on the protection and restoration of Louisiana coastal areas, including barrier island protection and restoration. While these plans are not considered as existing regulatory mechanisms for the purposes of this proposed delisting and are not designed specifically to benefit brown pelicans, we are aware that they may provide opportunities for us to monitor and to continue to reduce and minimize the threats to brown pelicans from habitat loss and degradation caused by storms in the Louisiana Gulf Coast region after they are delisted, and demonstrate the level of importance State and Federal agencies place on maintaining and protecting those areas.

In other portions of the species' range, storms and weather conditions may also remove or degrade vegetation used for nesting by brown pelicans. Hurricanes (category 3 or higher) such as Hugo and Georges have severely affected red (
Rhizophora mangle
) and black (
Avicennia germinans
) mangrove habitat in Puerto Rico. Other coastal trees such as
Bursera simaruba
and
Pisonia subcordata
, which are prime nesting trees for pelicans in the U.S. Virgin Islands, have also been completely defoliated or torn down by hurricanes (Saliva 1989). Mangroves and other coastal trees may either be uprooted, completely defoliated, or killed (through dislodging of submerged roots by strong wave action) and several breeding seasons may pass before those areas recover. Similar effects of hurricanes and storms on nesting vegetation would be expected in other areas where brown pelicans nest in trees (some areas in the Caribbean, portions of the Pacific coast of Mexico, and parts of Central and South America). Along the U.S. Gulf Coast, mangroves can be killed off by extreme cold weather (Blus
et al.
1979a, p. 130; McNease
et al.
1992, p. 225; McNease
et al.
1994, p. 6). Coastal black mangroves (
Avicennia germinans
), decimated by freezes since the 1980s, were historically the nesting shrub of choice for brown pelicans in Louisiana, but now clumps of vegetation, like dense stands of non-woody plants or low woody shrubs, are used (McNease
et al.
1992, p. 225; Shields
et al.
2002, p. 23).

While localized losses and degradation of nesting habitat from hurricanes, storms, and erosion have been documented (Wilkinson
et al.
1994, p. 425; Hess and Linscombe 2006, p. 4), we believe brown pelicans are capable of recovering from these losses. For example, brown pelican nests producing young in Louisiana have generally increased from a low in 1993 of 5,186 to a high of 16,501 in 2004 (Hess and Linscombe 2006, pp. 5, 13). During this time frame, numerous tropical storms and hurricanes have made landfall on the Louisiana coast (Hess and Linscombe 2006, pp. 9-11). As of May 2006, less than a year after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Hess and Linscombe (2007, p. 4) noted a total of 8,036 nests in fifteen colonies. Additionally, brown pelicans have shown they are capable of dispersing from nesting sites. Examples of this dispersal are the natural expansion and population growth observed following the reintroduction program in Louisiana (McNease and Perry 1998, p. 1) and more recently with the establishment of a new nesting colony at Rabbit Island (Hess and Linscombe 2003, p. 5). It is reasonable to expect island erosion will continue; however, it is also reasonable to expect State and Federal agencies to continue active maintenance and restoration of barrier islands through programs such as the CWPPRA. We lack data on the effects of storms and erosion elsewhere in the range of the brown pelican. However, outside of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, storms generally are less frequent and less severe. It is evident from the information on pelican responses to storms in the Gulf of Mexico that they are capable of successfully adapting to the changes that storms bring. In addition, brown pelicans are broadly distributed along the Gulf of Mexico, nesting at 15 sites in Louisiana in 2006 (LDWF 2007, pp. 1, 3) and 12 sites in Texas in 2006 (Service 2006, p. 2). The species' broad distribution and multiple nesting colonies reduce the risk that any single storm would affect the entire Gulf coast population of brown pelicans. Therefore, we believe that habitat modification or destruction of brown pelican nesting habitat by storms or coastal erosion will not endanger the brown pelican throughout all of its range in the foreseeable future.

Human disturbance of nesting pelicans.
Adverse effects on nesting pelicans from human disturbance by recreationists, scientists, educational groups, and fishermen have been well documented (Anderson 1988, p. 342; Anderson and Keith 1980, pp. 68-69). Disturbance at nesting colonies, such as walking among or near nests, has been

shown to adversely affect reproductive success of pelicans, and even result in abandonment of nests or entire colonies (Anderson and Keith 1980, p. 69).

Collier
et al.
(2003, pp. 112-113) offer human disturbance as the cause of a suspension of breeding activity in a brown pelican colony on St. Martin in the Lesser Antilles. The colony was near a resort with heavy boat and jet ski use. When a jet ski passed within about 400 m (1,312 ft) of a colony 40 pelicans flushed, leaving their nests unattended and unprotected from predators, but none flushed when a slow-moving dive boat approached within 10 m (33 ft) of the colony.

In Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, most breeding colonies of brown pelicans are located within Commonwealth or Federal protected areas. The adverse effects of human disturbances by recreational vessels and fishermen have been suggested as potentially resulting in abandonment of pelican nests located at low elevations and close to the water (Jiménez 2004, pp. 12-17). Pelicans have been seen flushing from nests when boats approached within 152.4 m (500 ft), and have been noted to leave their nests unattended for as long as humans remained within this proximity (Saliva 1996a; Saliva 2003). Raffaele
et al.
(1998, pp. 224-225) summarized historical records of pelicans nesting in Puerto Rico and noted their extirpation from at least three colonies and suggests boat traffic as the cause. Schreiber (1999, p. 20) noted that one of these extirpated colonies may have moved to a nearby bay, hidden from boaters.

Along Mexico's Pacific Coast, human disturbance at colonies has resulted in nest abandonment, predation of eggs and chicks, and total abandonment or relocation of individual colonies (Anderson and Keith 1980, p. 69). Fishermen, birders, photographers, educational groups, and egg collectors (in past years) have occasionally disturbed the pelican colonies at critical times during the breeding season (Gress
et al.
2005, p. 7). However, nesting brown pelicans are monitored annually as an indicator species in the Gulf of California (Godinez
et al.
2004, p. 48), and although annual numbers fluctuate widely due to a number of factors, including disturbances at some colonies, the populations are considered stable (Everett and Anderson 1991, p. 133; Anderson and Palacios 2005, p. 2).

Although the threat of human disturbance has declined in Mexico as a result of conservation efforts and increased protection (Luckenbach Trustee Council 2006, p. 82), enforcement remains limited (Anderson
et al.
2003, pp. 1103-1104), and many colonies are still susceptible to disturbances (Godinez 2006). However, effects from disturbance have not been substantial enough to result in documented population declines in the last 20 years (Anderson
et al.
2004, p. 37). Therefore, while these local impacts are still occurring, we do not believe they currently threaten brown pelicans or will become a threat that endangers the brown pelican throughout all of its range in the foreseeable future.

Future conservation actions in Mexico that are not a factor in our proposal to delist the brown pelican, but would benefit brown pelicans and reduce human disturbance if implemented, are the restoration of seabird colonies on five pelican nesting islands along the Pacific Coast of Baja California as part of the Luckenbach Restoration Plan and the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program (MSRP) (Luckenbach Trustee Council 2006, pp. 74-82, 100, 106; MSRP 2005, pp. D5-11-12). Proposed restoration activities include reducing sources of disturbance at colonies by redesigning paths and walkways to manage human traffic, shielding light sources, and performing public outreach and education (Luckenbach Trustee Council 2006, pp. 20, 77).

While human disturbance can cause brown pelicans to flush from their nests, there are also situations where the birds have become habituated to nearby intense uses (for example, aircraft activity) without obvious effects on breeding efforts (Schreiber
et al.
1981, p. 398). We believe the current protections provided for nest sites and to prevent human disturbances to U.S. nesting colonies, as well as the protections afforded by State laws, will adequately continue to protect brown pelicans throughout their range within the United States. Additionally, while human disturbance to brown pelican nesting colonies is still occurring outside of the United States, most of the countries in the species' range are protecting, and are expected to continue to protect, brown pelicans through implementation of restoration plans, designated biosphere reserves and parks, and land ownership and protection by conservation organizations and local, State, and Federal governments (see below for discussion of nesting habitat protections). These protections are implemented through various mechanisms that do not rely on the U.S. Endangered Species Act and therefore are expected to continue if the brown pelican is delisted. The current levels of human disturbance are not sufficient to cause population declines of brown pelicans, because brown pelicans may become habituated to some level of disturbance, may shift nesting locations (as indicated above in discussion of loss of nesting habitat), or may only experience a temporary loss of reproduction, such as for a single breeding season. While human disturbance of brown pelican colonies is continuing, we do not believe the level of disturbance is currently sufficient to result in population declines of brown pelicans throughout all of the species' range in the foreseeable future.

Nesting Habitat Protection

A number of factors may affect the quantity and quality of brown pelican nesting habitat from year to year. However, almost all the U.S. nesting sites are protected from habitat destruction and human disturbance, and a significant number of nesting sites outside the United States are also protected. Protections include designations as wildlife refuges, biosphere reserves, and national parks, as well as land ownership and protection by conservation organizations and local, State, and Federal governments. Because these protections are designed to not only protect brown pelicans, but other resources as well, such as other species of colonial waterbirds, and wetland, coastal, and marine habitats, we do not expect these protections to change if the brown pelican is delisted.

Gulf of Mexico Coast.
Many of the Texas islands used by brown pelicans are leased, managed, and monitored by local chapters of the National Audubon Society (Audubon) (Audubon 2007a, p. 1). Audubon staff assess the conditions of brown pelican islands throughout the year in Texas (Yeargan 2007) and implement management actions to address issues such as erosion and fire ant control. Additionally, there are local “Bird Wardens” that patrol the islands regularly (Audubon 2007b, p. 1). The two largest brown pelican nesting colonies, both in Corpus Christi Bay, Texas (Sundown Island, owned by the Port of Corpus Christi, and Pelican Island, owned by the Texas General Land Office), are part of the Texas Audubon Society's Coastal Sanctuaries program (Yeargan 2007; Audubon 2007b, p. 1; Service 2007b, p. 2). Audubon also owns North Deer Island, which houses the most productive waterbird colony in Galveston Bay and is the largest natural island remaining in the bay (Audubon 2007c, p. 1). A third major nesting site, Little Pelican Island, Galveston Bay, is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) (Yeargan 2007). Audubon, in

cooperation with the Corps, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Service, placed signs around Little Pelican Island advising the public to avoid landing on the island during the nesting season (Service 2007b, p. 3). Also in Galveston Bay, Evia and Midbay islands, owned by the Port of Houston, are important brown pelican nesting islands, and Alligator Point in Chocolate Bayou, owned by the Texas General Land Office, also supports breeding brown pelicans (Yeargan 2007). Brown pelicans are counted annually as part of the Texas Colonial Waterbird Survey (Service 2006, p. 1; Erfling 2007b). Signs advising the public to avoid landing were posted at each island listed above; the sign at Alligator Point was lost due to erosion, but there are plans to replace the sign this year (Erfling 2007b).

Louisiana's North Island and Breton Island, two pelican nesting islands within the Chandeleur Islands chain, are part of the Service's Breton National Wildlife Refuge system (GulfBase 2007, p. 1). Signs are posted at the edge of the water indicating that the site is closed to human intrusion during the nesting season. In addition, during the nesting season, law enforcement personnel patrol the islands during periods of high human presence, such as on weekends and holidays (Fuller 2007c). One of Louisiana's largest pelican nesting colonies, Raccoon Island, in addition to Wine Island, East Island, Trinity Island, and Whiskey Island, are part of the Isles Dernieres Barrier Islands Refuge owned and managed by the LDWF who restricts public access (Fuller 2007d). Additionally, there are several other small, intermittently used nesting colony sites, such as Martin and Brush islands, that are privately owned. However, these sites are remote and are probably only subject to occasional offshore recreational and commercial fishing activity.

West Indies.
The two nesting sites documented by Collier
et al.
(2003, p. 113) on St. Maarten are protected: Fort Amsterdam as a registered and protected historic site, and Pelikan Key as part of a marine park. In addition, both sites have been proposed as Important Bird Areas (IBAs) (Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds 2006, pp. 11-12).

In Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, most breeding colonies of brown pelicans are located within Commonwealth or Federal protected areas. Cayo Conejo, on the south coast of Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, is one of the two most active and largest brown pelican nesting colonies in Puerto Rico (Saliva 2003). The U.S. Navy began using the eastern portion of Vieques Island for training exercises in the early years of World War II, and acquired the eastern and western portions of the island between 1941 and 1943 (Schreiber 1999, pp. 8, 13, 18-21). Since that time, it has been used in varying intensities for activities including amphibious landings, naval gunfire support, and air-to-ground training (Service 2001, p. 4). In May 2003, the Navy ceased operations on Vieques Island via the Floyd D. Spense Defense Authorization Act of 2001 and transferred these lands to the Service, which subsequently designated it as the Vieques Island National Wildlife Refuge.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, brown pelican colonies are fairly inaccessible on high cliffs or steep cays (small, low islands) (Collazo 1985, pp. 106-108; Saliva 1996b); therefore, it is unlikely that human intrusion would be a major factor affecting pelican reproduction in those colonies.

The six nesting sites in Cuba identified by Acosta-Cruz and Mugica-Valdés (2006, pp. 32-33) are within areas identified as wetlands of international importance under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat. The convention itself does not provide specific protections of identified wetlands, but does commit the parties to the convention to formulate and implement planning for the conservation and management of wetlands within their countries. One of the brown pelican sites in Cuba, Refugio de Fauna Río Máximo, is additionally protected as a wildlife refuge (Acosta-Cruz and Mugica-Valdés 2006, pp. 32-33).

California and Pacific Coast of Mexico.
Pelican nesting colonies in California occur within Channel Islands National Park and are protected from human disturbance and coastal development. West Anacapa Island, where approximately 75 percent of the SCB population nests (Gress
et al
. 2003, p. 15), is designated as a research natural area by Channel Islands National Park and closed to the public (NPS 2004, p. 4). To protect pelican nesting areas, Santa Barbara Island trails are seasonally closed (NPS 2006, p. 1), and Scorpion Rock is permanently closed to the public (NPS 2004, p. 2). In 1980, the waters adjacent to the Channel Islands were designated as a National Marine Sanctuary (15 CFR 922). This designation implements restrictions which include, but are not limited to, (1) no tankers and other bulk carriers and barges, or any vessel engaged in the servicing of offshore installations within 1.8 kilometers (km) (1.15 miles (mi)); (2) no motorized aircraft at altitudes less than 305 m (1,000 ft) over the waters within 1.8 km (1.15 mi); and (3) no exploring for, developing, or producing oil and gas unless authorized prior to 1981 (NOAA 2006, Appendix C).

Additionally, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) designated the waters adjacent to nesting brown pelican habitat on West Anacapa as a Marine Reserve, increasing protections for that colony by prohibiting fishing and other boating activities at depths of less than 37 m (120 ft) from January 1 to October 31 of each year (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Sections 27.82, 630, and 6321). In 1999, commercial squid fishing boats operating offshore of West Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands during the pelican breeding season, presumably because the (non-local) fishermen were not aware of the closure during the breeding season, used bright lights at night to attract squid to the surface (Gress 1999, p. 1). Use of lights at night was associated with brown pelican nest abandonment, chick mortality, and very low productivity (Gress 1999, pp. 1-2). Squid fishing has been observed around the Channel Islands in recent years, although it has not occurred near the colonies at a noticeable level since 1999 (Whitworth
et al.
2005, p. 19). In 2004, the California Fish and Game Commission adopted the requirement of light shields and a limit of 30,000 watts per boat operating around the Channel Islands (CDFG Regulations, Section 149, Title 14, CCR). Although occasional disturbances may occur during the breeding season, such as illegal boating within the Marine Sanctuary, we believe the protections and active enforcement by the National Park Service (NPS) and CDFG have ensured that all nesting colonies in California remain relatively disturbance free.

As noted above, Mexico's nesting brown pelicans are monitored annually as an indicator species in the Gulf of California (Godinez
et al
. 2004, p. 48). All of the island nesting colonies and many of the mainland Mexico nesting colonies are protected from habitat destruction or modification by Mexican law because the sites are federally protected and designated as either Biosphere Reserve Areas for Protection of Flora and Fauna or National Parks (Anderson and Palacios 2005, p. 16; Carabias-Lilio
et al.
2000, p. 3).

Caribbean Coast of Mexico, and Central and South America.
Isla Contoy Reserva Especial de la Biosfera off the coast of Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico, is Mexico's largest brown pelican nesting colony on the Caribbean coast.

It is currently protected as a National Park within a Biosphere Reserve. Visitation is limited and strictly controlled to minimize impacts to the seabirds that nest and roost there.

Guatemala—Eisermann (2006, p. 63) identified 12 sites where brown pelicans are present within Guatemala, but did not indicate whether any of these are nesting sites. Of these 12 sites, 10 have some level of conservation as either Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, Areas of Multiple Use, or private protected areas (Eisermann 2006, p. 13).

Honduras—In Honduras, two of the four identified nesting sites for brown pelicans are currently protected, Monumento Natural Marino del Archipiélago de Cayos Cochinos and Laguna de Los Micos within Parque Nacional Blanca Jeannette Kawas (Thorn
et al.
2006, p. 8, 11, 29). A third nesting area, the cays of Isla Utila, has been proposed for protection as Refugio de Vida Silvestre Cayos de Utila and Reserva Marina Utila (Thorn
et al.
2006, p. 9).

Nicaragua—Although Zolotoff-Pallais and Lezama (2006, p. 79) do not indicate any nesting sites for brown pelicans, they indicate that brown pelicans occur at four sites designated as wetlands of international importance under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat.

Costa Rica—In Costa Rica, the three major brown pelican nesting sites reported by Quesada (2006, p. 34), Isla Guayabo, Isla Negrita, and Isla Pararos, are protected as Biological Reserves. A fourth site, Isla Verde, identified as a roosting location for brown pelicans, is protected as a national park (Quesada 2006, p. 34).

Panama—Angehr (2005, pp. 23, 26, 30, 34) identifies four nesting sites used by brown pelicans in Panama that are on lands with some official protective status: (1) Isla Barca Quebrada, within Coiba National Park; (2) Iguana Island, within Isla Iguana Wildlife Refuge; (3) a group of small islands mostly within the Taboga Wildlife Refuge; and (4) Pearl Islands, owned by the Panamanian environmental organization ANCON (National Association for the Conservation of Nature). There are many more nesting areas in Panama, but they lack protective status.

Colombia—In Colombia, all seven sites where brown pelican were documented to occur by Moreno and Buelvas (2005, p. 11, 57) are included in a system of protected areas or as part of sanctuaries for wildlife and plants.

Venezuela—In Venezuela, Rodner (2006, p. 28) indicates that at least 9 of the 25 nesting colonies for brown pelicans are protected as either Parques Nacional, Monumentals Natural, or Refugios de Silvestre.

Ecuador—About 87 percent of the Galapagos Islands are a National Park (Exploring Ecuador 2006, p. 1), and commercial and tourist access to the Park is regulated by the government of Ecuador to protect natural resources (Service 2007a, p. 23). The resident human population on the Galapagos Islands has expanded in recent years, as has the number of tourists (Charles Darwin Foundation 2006, p. 13). The Charles Darwin Foundation, which works in the islands under an agreement with the government of Ecuador, has developed a strategic plan to address the management of increasing human presence in the islands (Charles Darwin Foundation 2006, p. 7). The plan's general objective is to “forge a sustainable Galapagos society in which the people who inhabit the islands will act as agents of conservation.”

Peru—Proabons, an agency in Peru's Ministry of Agriculture, protects and manages brown pelican nesting islands, which are collectively referred to as guano islands (Zavalaga
et al.
2002, p. 9; Proabonos 2006). Additionally, Franke (2006, p. 8) indicates brown pelicans occur at four protected sites, although it is not clear whether these are nesting sites as well: Santuario Nacional Los Manglares de Tumbes, Zona Reservada Los Pantanos de Villa, National Reserve Paracas, and Santuario Nacional Lagunas de Mejía. Estimated increases in the brown pelican population along coastal Peru have been attributed to protective measures by the Peruvian government. The Ministry of Agriculture's Forest and Wild Fauna Management Authority (IRENA) lists the brown pelican as endangered, and provides prohibitions against take of the species without a permit (Taura 2006).

Chile—Simeone and Bernal (2000, p. 450) reported that Isla Pájaro Niño in Chile has been designated a Nature Reserve by the Chilean government for the protection of Humboldt penguins, brown pelicans, and other seabirds. The breakwater connecting the island to the mainland has controlled access, which has reduced human disturbance (Simeone and Bernal 2000, p. 455).

In summary regarding nesting habitat, conservation efforts are continuing to positively affect nesting brown pelicans, resulting in an overall rangewide recovery. Although loss of nesting habitat has occurred on a local scale, for instance, in Puerto Rico (Collazo
et al.
1998, p. 63) and Mexico (Anderson
et al.
2003, p. 1099), we have no evidence that nesting habitat is limiting pelican populations on a regional or global scale. Threats from human disturbance of nesting colonies throughout most of the species' range have been abated through protection efforts, including designation of National Parks and Biosphere Reserves, signage to deter people from entering colonies, and restricted access. While nesting habitat is lost to storms and erosion, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico (McNease and Perry 1998, p. 9), birds have been found to disperse to and colonize other natural areas (Hess and Durham 2002, p. 7) and manmade islands (Hess and Linscombe 2006, pp. 3, 6; Harris 2006).

Roost Habitat

Disturbance-free roosting habitat is essential for brown pelicans throughout the year, for drying and maintaining plumage, resting, sleeping, and conserving energy (Jaques and Anderson 1987, pp. 4-5). Roosts also act as information centers for social facilitation. Essential characteristics of roost sites include: Proximity to food resources; physical barriers to minimize predation and disturbance; sufficient size for individuals to interact normally; and protection from adverse environmental conditions, such as wind and surf (Jaques and Anderson 1987, p. 5). Communal roosts occur on offshore rocks and islands; on beaches at mouths of estuaries; and on breakwaters, pilings, jetties, sandbars, and mangrove islets (Jaques and Anderson 1987, pp. 14, 19; Shields 2002, p. 7). Brown pelicans have two types of roosts, day and night roosts. Night roosts need to be larger and less accessible to predators and human disturbance than day roosts (Jaques and Anderson 1987, p. 27; Jaques and Strong 2003, p. 1). Along the Pacific Coast, brown pelicans use roost sites that are different from nest sites (Jaques and Anderson 1987, pp. 14, 19; Briggs
et al.
1981, pp. 7-8). In other areas, brown pelicans generally also use their nesting grounds as roosting grounds year round (Saliva 2003; Hess and Durham 2002, p. 1; Hess and Linscombe 2001, p. 1; King
et al.
1985, p. 204).

Natural roost habitat is limited along the southern California coast due to a lack of rocky substrate, as well as coastal development and wetland filling (Jaques and Strong 2003, p. 1). Most roosts in southern California occur on jetties and breakwaters under jurisdiction of the Corps, although private structures such as barges and oil platforms also provide significant roost habitat (Strong and Jaques 2003, p. 20). Night roost habitat is further limited to large areas where disturbance is minimal, which may be causing

pelicans to expend unnecessary energy to fly between daytime roosting/foraging areas along the mainland and distant night roosts in the Channel Islands (Jaques
et al.
1996, p. 46; Jaques and Strong 2003, p. 12).

In California, all rocks, islands, pinnacles, and exposed reefs above mean high tide within 22.2 km (13.8 mi) of shore are included within the California Coastal National Monument (CCNM), managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (U.S. Bureau of Land Management 2005, pp. 1-3). Management includes monitoring and protecting geologic formations and the habitat they provide for seabirds and other wildlife (U.S. Bureau of Land Management 2005, pp. 1-3). Many pelican roost sites are on protected rocks and islands within the CCNM.

The central California coast supports an important temporal component of pelican roosting habitat, supporting 69 to 75 percent of pelicans in California in the fall (Strong and Jaques 2003, p. 28). The Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in central California protect and support roosting habitat (15 CFR 922; Thayer and Sydeman 2004, p. 2; Service 2007c, p. 1). CDFG designated the waters around the Farallon Islands as a State Marine Conservation Area, and the islands are part of the Gulf of the Farallons National Marine Sanctuary (CDFG 2007, p. 7; 15 CFR 922). The Marine Sanctuaries prohibit aircraft from flying below 305 m (1,000 ft) within their boundaries, and limit allowable uses to research, educational, and recreational activities. In general, commercial and recreational uses of marine resources are prohibited, but certain commercial and recreational harvests of marine resources may be permitted (CDFG 2007, pp. 4-5; 15 CFR 922).

Vandenberg Air Force Base (AFB), in southern California, consulted under section 7 of the Act with the Service regarding the effects of low-flying test flights, and agreed to avoid flying directly over roosting pelicans occurring on their mainland base (Service 2003a, p. 1). We have consulted with Vandenberg AFB multiple times regarding the impacts of missile launches on roosting pelicans and have determined that impacts are limited to a short-term startle effect (Service 1998, 1999, 2003a). For the next 5 years, a maximum of 25 missile launches per year at Vandenberg AFB are estimated (Frye 2006). Therefore, potential impacts from missile launches are minimal because they are temporary in nature and will likely only occur a few times per month.

The Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge, inland from San Diego, is also used for roosting during the post-breeding season, supporting and protecting up to 5,000 pelicans in the summer within its boundaries (Service 2007d, pp. 1-2). However, roosting habitat is expected to decrease after the year 2018 as a result of reductions of Colorado River water reaching the Salton Sea (Service 2002, p. 52), which could decrease the availability of forage fishes to pelicans and reduce the suitability of roosting habitat in this area (Service 2002, pp. 18, 51). The Bureau of Reclamation will compensate for this loss by creating new roosting habitat along the southern California coast (Service 2002, p. 52).

An atlas of pelican roost sites along the central and southern California coast is in preparation that will allow conservation agencies to evaluate the overall status of roosting habitat and help prioritize roost sites for protection (Gorbics
et al.
2004, p. 1). In addition, the following projects will benefit brown pelicans, regardless of the brown pelican listing status: American Trader Restoration Plan (ATTC), Command Oil Spill Restoration Plan, Torch/Platform Irene Restoration Plan, and Montrose Settlement Restoration Plan (MSRP). The purpose of these plans is to restore natural resources, including seabirds, that were injured as a result of oil spills and hazardous substance releases along the California coast, and one component of all these plans is to reduce human disturbance at roost sites in central and southern California through education, monitoring, and enforcement (ATTC 2001, p. 16; Command Oil Spill Trustee Council 2004, p. 60; Torch/Platform Irene Trustee Council 2006, p. 33; MSRP 2005, p. D6-1). ATTC also began a pilot program in 2004 to create new night roosting habitat in the form of a floating platform in the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge salt ponds. While pelicans have not used the platform yet, ATTC is exploring other sites to enhance or create new roosts in southern California (ATTC 2006, p. 1). If the platform is successful, the MSRP may duplicate this effort in additional locations.

While some roosting habitat in the United Sates may still be susceptible to human disturbance, much of the brown pelican roosting habitat occurs within protected areas. There are ongoing efforts to identify and prioritize important roost sites, reduce disturbances at these sites, enhance existing roosts, and create new roost habitat. Southern California is the only area we are aware of with potentially limited roost sites. Nevertheless, the limited number of existing roost sites has had no known impacts to the species and the population appears to be stable or increasing. Therefore, we do not believe that roost site disturbance will endanger the brown pelican throughout all of its range in the foreseeable future.

Prey Abundance

Brown pelicans feed on surface-schooling fish such as menhaden (
Brevoortia
spp.), mullet (
Mugil
spp.), and anchovies (
Engraulis
spp.), which they catch by plunge-diving in coastal waters (Palmer 1962, p. 279; Blus
et al.
1979b, p. 175; Gress
et al.
1990, p. 2; Schreiber
et al.
1975, p. 649; Schreiber 1980, p. 744; Kushlan and Frohring 1985, p. 92). The offshore area within 30 to 50 km (18 to 30 mi) of a colony during the breeding season is critical to pelicans for feeding young (Anderson
et al.
1982, p. 28). Additionally, reproductive success is dependent on abundance and availability of prey within foraging distance of the colony (Anderson
et al.
1982, pp. 23, 30; Everett and Anderson 1991, p. 133). Therefore, commercial harvests of pelican prey species have the potential to affect brown pelican population dynamics.

Commercial fishing.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1801
et seq.
) requires management plans for commercial fish species to ensure optimum yield with guaranteed perpetuation of that resource and minimal impact to the ecosystem of which it is a part. Each coastal region of the U.S. is a member of one of eight Fishery Management Councils, each of which implements the local fishery management plan (16 U.S.C. 1801
et seq.
).

The Pacific Fishery Management Council prepared the Anchovy Fishery Management Plan (AFMP). Amendment 8 to the AFMP, adopted December 15, 1999 (64 FR 240), changed the name of the AFMP to the CPSFMP and added Pacific sardine (
Sardinops sagax
), Pacific mackerel (
Scomber japonicus
), jack mackerel (
Trachurus symmetricus
), and market squid (
Loligo opalscens
) to the fishery management unit (CPSFMP 1998, p. 1-1). Amendment 8 divided these species into actively managed and monitored categories. Harvest guidelines for actively managed species, Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel, are based on formulas applied to current biomass estimates and designed to ensure that adequate forage is available for seabirds, marine mammals, and other fish. There are no harvest guidelines for the monitored species

(northern anchovy, jack mackerel, and market squid) because they are not currently intensively fished, although harvest and abundance data will be monitored (CPSFMP 1998, pp. 4-5). The northern anchovy fishery essentially ceased in 1983 due to a depressed market. The depressed market for northern anchovy is thought to be a long-term or possibly permanent condition, although this fishery continues today at a minimal level (CDFG 2001, pp. 303-305). A comprehensive assessment of the northern anchovy fishery will be conducted if the annual harvest approaches 25,000 metric tons (mt) (25,097 tons); however, the current harvest is only about 7,000 mt (6,889 tons) of an estimated biomass of 388,000 mt (381,872 tons) (Service 1999, pp. 1-2).

On June 10, 1999, the Service determined that Amendment 8 to the AFMP will not adversely affect brown pelicans in California because it would not decrease the availability of fish to pelicans (Service 1999, p. 1). The CPSFMP (1998, pp. 2-5) will continue to ensure that adequate forage is available to pelicans if economic conditions change and northern anchovies become more intensively fished. The CPFSMP will also ensure that other forage fishes used by pelicans, such as Pacific sardines and Pacific mackerel, are also managed to preserve adequate forage reserves (CPSFMP 1998, pp. 2-5).

The central subpopulation of the northern anchovy extends south of the U.S. border along the west coast of Baja California, Mexico. However, there is no bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Mexico regarding the management of this subpopulation, and the Mexican fishery is managed independently and not restricted by a quota (CDFG 2001, p. 304). The Coronados Islands pelican population may have suffered reduced breeding success during the late 1970s as a result of intensive commercial anchovy harvests in Mexico (Anderson and Gress 1982, p. 130). Declines in the anchovy population in the early 1980s may have been caused by intensive harvesting in Mexico that far exceeded the California fishery (Service 1983, p. 57). Similar to the U.S. fishery, anchovy harvests in Mexico have decreased sharply in recent years, from an average 86,363 mt (85,000 tons) per year from 1962 to 1989, to an average of 3.65 mt (3.6 tons) from 1990 to 1999 (CDFG 2001, p. 303). However, if economic conditions change and anchovies become more intensively harvested in Mexico, availability of anchovies for pelicans could be reduced.

While no brown pelican prey species appear to be currently regulated by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council nor the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Web sites accessed:
http://www.gulfcouncil.org/,
and
http://www.caribbeanfmc.com/
), in the U.S., regulations under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act are sufficient to protect prey abundance for brown pelicans, including brown pelican food species currently being commercially fished and any that may be in the future. Therefore, we do not believe that commercial fishing will endanger the brown pelican or its prey throughout the United States, Mexico, and Caribbean portion of its range in the foreseeable future.

We do not have information from other countries on commercial fishery impacts to brown pelican prey abundance. However, we have no evidence to suggest that commercial fishing is limiting brown pelican populations. Populations of brown pelicans in Central and South America are generally large with stable or increasing trends, indicating that food resources are not limiting.

El Niño and Freeze Events
. A mixture of subarctic and tropical waters, upwelling events, and varying depths of the Pacific Ocean result in seasonal, interannual (between year), and long-term variability in fish availability for brown pelicans (Dailey
et al.
1993, pp. 11-13). El Niño events that occur periodically in the Pacific Ocean are characterized by warm, nutrient-poor water and reduced productivity (Dailey
et al.
1993, p. 11; Leck 1973, p. 357; Duffy 1983b, p. 687), thus reducing brown pelican reproductive success and causing mortality in pelican chicks (Hayward 2000, p. 111). Pelicans have the flexibility to respond to changes in food supplies through variable reproductive rates, although a long-term decline in food abundance could have serious impacts on the pelican population (Anderson
et al.
1982, p. 30). An incidental effect of El Niño is movement of brown pelicans into developed areas, presumably in search of food, exposing them to collision hazards with structures and vehicles (Leck 1973, p. 357). During the 1997 El Niño event, an increase was reported in the local pelican population from 200 to 4,000 birds within a few weeks within the city of Arica, Chile (CNN 1997, p. 1). El Niño events are generally limited to a single breeding season, and are not likely to result in long-term population declines (Dailey
et al.
1993, p. 11).

McNease
et al.
(1994, p. 10) found that severe freezes in Louisiana limited feeding due to surface ice formation. Fish mortality related to freezes also negatively impacts the pelican's food supply on a short-term basis (McNease
et al.
1994, p. 10). However, these events are typically localized and restricted to a single season in duration.

El Niños and severe freezes may impact brown pelicans on a short-term, localized basis, but they do not pose a rangewide threat to the continued existence of the species. The pelican is a long-lived species that has evolved with natural phenomena such as variation in food resources, winter storms, and hurricanes, such that sporadic breeding failures have little effect on long-term population stability (Shields 2002, p. 23). These factors are only significant when population sizes are small and reproduction is limited. Because current populations and distribution are large and reproduction has been restored to a level that can compensate for normal environmental fluctuations, we do not believe these natural events threaten the species throughout all of its range in the foreseeable future.

Other Habitat Protections

U.S. laws that provide protections to brown pelican habitat are the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661
et seq.
), which requires equal consideration and coordination of wildlife conservation with other water resource developments, and the Estuary Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1221
et seq.
), which requires Federal agencies to assess impacts of commercial and industrial developments on estuaries. Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (33 U.S.C. 401
et seq.
) regulates the building of any wharfs, piers, jetties, and other structures and the excavation or fill within navigable water. Sections 402 and 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251
et seq.
), as amended by the Clean Water Act (91 Stat. 1566) and the Water Quality Improvement Act (101 Stat. 7), provide for the development of comprehensive programs for water pollution control and efficient and coordinated action to minimize damage from oil discharges.

Additional environmental laws that help protect pelican habitat and food sources include: Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 (100 Stat. 3585), which authorizes the purchase of wetlands from Land & Water Conservation Fund monies; North American Wetlands Conservation Act of 1989 (103 Stat. 1968) which provides funding for wetland conservation

programs in Canada, Mexico, and the United States; Anadromous Fish Conservation Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 1125), which provides funds for conservation, development, and enhancement of anadromous fish (marine fish that breed in fresh water) through cooperation with States and other non-Federal interests; Coastal Barrier Resources Act (96 Stat. 1653), as amended by the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990, which encourages conservation of hurricane-prone, biologically rich coastal barrier islands by restricting Federal expenditures that encourage development of coastal barrier islands, such as providing National Flood Insurance; Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451-1464), which provides fiscal incentives for the protection, restoration, or enhancement of existing coastal wetlands or creating new coastal wetlands and assessing the cumulative effects of coastal development of coastal wetlands and fishery resources; Shore Protection Act of 1988; Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1954, as amended in 1978 and 1985; National Ocean Pollution Planning Act of 1978; Oil Pollution Act of 1990; Act to Prevent Pollution From Ships of 1980; Marine Pollution and Research and Control Act of 1989; Ocean Dumping Ban Act of 1988; and Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1988. These laws and regulations, taken collectively, help ensure the conservation of brown pelicans and their habitat.

In summary, conservation efforts are continuing to positively affect brown pelicans, resulting in an overall rangewide recovery. Although loss of nesting habitat has occurred on a local scale, for instance in Puerto Rico (Collazo
et al.
1998, p.63) and Mexico (Anderson
et al.
2003, p. 1099), we have no evidence that nesting habitat loss is limiting pelican populations on a regional or global scale. Threats from human disturbance of nesting colonies throughout most of the species' range have been abated through protection efforts, including designation of National Parks and Biosphere Reserves, signage to deter people from entering colonies, and restricted access. While nesting habitat is lost to storms and erosion, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico (McNease and Perry 1998, p. 9), birds have been found to colonize in other natural areas (Hess and Durham 2002, p. 7) and on manmade islands (Hess and Linscombe 2006, pp. 3, 6; Harris 2006). The only area where we have determined roost sites to be limited is in southern California, but this has not had any known impacts to the population. Much of the U.S. brown pelican roosting habitat is within protected areas. We have no evidence to suggest that commercial fishing in the U.S. and elsewhere is limiting brown pelican populations by reducing the species' fish prey base. El Niños and severe freezes may impact brown pelicans on a short-term, localized basis, but these events do not threaten the continued existence of the species. Although some local factors continue to affect brown pelicans, these factors are not of sufficient magnitude to affect any brown pelican populations. Therefore, we believe that the brown pelican is not threatened or endangered throughout all of its range within the foreseeable future by the present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range.

B. Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or Educational Purposes

We are not aware of any overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational uses of brown pelicans, although within the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the brown pelican is protected from any such threats. In 1936 the Protection of Migratory Birds and Game Mammals Treaty was signed by the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, and Mexico (50 Stat. 1311; TS 912), which adopted a system for the protection of certain migratory birds, including the brown pelican, in the United States and Mexico. This Treaty provides for protection from shooting and egg collection by establishment of closed seasons and refuge zones. Implementation of the treaty in the United States was accomplished by amending the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918 (16 U.S.C. 703-711; 40 Stat. 755). The MBTA and its implementing regulations (50 CFR Parts 20 and 21) prohibit take, possession, import, export, transport, selling, purchase, barter, or offering for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird, their eggs, parts, and nests, except as authorized under a valid permit, and require that such use not adversely affect populations (50 CFR 21.11). The MBTA and its implementing regulations will adequately protect against overutilization of pelicans within the United States, Canada, and Mexico (see discussion of the MBTA in “Effects of this Rule” section below). We do not have any information to indicate that overutilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational uses is occurring within areas covered by the MBTA or elsewhere throughout the species' range. Therefore, we do not believe overutilization will endanger the brown pelican throughout all of its range in the foreseeable future.

C. Disease or predation

Several diseases have been identified as causing illness and mortality of brown pelicans. The diatom (an algae)
Pseudo-nitzchia australis
occasionally blooms in large numbers off the California coast and produces the toxin domoic acid that occasionally causes mortalities in pelicans (USGS 2002a, p. 5). Erysipelas, caused by the bacterium
Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae
, caused mortality of about 350 pelicans off the coast of California during the winter of 1987-1988 (Shields 2002, p. 32). This outbreak was thought to have been caused by unusually warm waters combined with a large number of pelicans in that area. Avian botulism, caused by the bacterium
Clostridium botulinum
, has caused illness and mortality of pelicans at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge (USGS 2002b, p. 6). None of these disease outbreaks have had known long-term impacts on the population, and because occurrences are few and self-limiting, we do not believe impacts from disease will become a threat to brown pelicans throughout all of their range in the foreseeable future.

West Nile virus is listed on the Center for Disease Control's West Nile Virus Web page as causing the mortality of white pelicans. However, according to this same Web site and the USGS, no brown pelican deaths due to West Nile virus have been reported, although antibodies for the virus have been found in captive brown pelicans (USGS 2003a, p. 6). We do not believe impacts from West Nile virus will become a threat to brown pelicans throughout all of their range in the foreseeable future, since there is no evidence to date that it negatively impacts pelicans. The post-delisting monitoring plan will be designed to detect declines in brown pelican populations that might arise from a variety of threats, including West Nile virus. There is an extensive network of Federal and State wildlife agencies and other cooperators that monitor colonial nesting waterbird species, including the brown pelican (see “Post-Delisting Monitoring Plan” section below).

Ticks have been implicated as the cause of nest abandonment on both a Texas and Peruvian island (King
et al.
1977b, p.1; Duffy 1983a, p. 112). However, these events were localized and apparently have had no long term impact on population levels in these areas. Mites and liver flukes have also

been reported in brown pelicans (50 FR 4942), but have not been noted to cause significant health impairment in healthy birds. We have no evidence that mites, liver flukes, or other parasites are limiting brown pelican populations. Therefore, we

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3AE8-2829. Public record. Not legal advice.