Federal wildlife officials announced today that the brown pelican will be removed from the endangered species list, but conservationists are not necessarily cheering.

The brown pelicans, including the subspecies known as the California brown pelican, were listed as endangered in 1970 after their numbers plummeted because of exposure to the pesticide DDT; the bird’s numbers have recovered since DDT was banned in 1972.

One environmental group, the Center for Biological Diversity, says it would prefer that populations on the western Gulf Coast and Caribbean remain on the list because of vulnerability to climate change and hurricanes.

Orange County biologist Douglas R. Willick, an author of “The Birds of Orange County, California: Status and Distribution,” said he hopes the decision to delist the bird is based on sound science.

“It certainly looks to be that their numbers are rebounding from the days when their reproduction was so low because of DDT,” Willick said. “I would have to say we sure see a lot of them off our coast.”

Read Associated Press story on pelican delisting.

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