Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has proposed completely removing the brown pelican from the endangered species list, after almost 40 years.

Kempthorne attributed the brown pelican's rebound in part to the U.S. ban on the use of the pesticide DDT in 1972, according to a department statement on Feb. 8. The proposal will be published in the Federal Register and a 60-day comment period will follow, the statement said. Some groups of brown pelicans, for example in Alabama, Florida and Georgia, had already been removed from the list.

More than 620,000 brown pelicans are now found in Florida, the Gulf and Pacific coasts as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean, the statement said.

``The brown pelican is known for its fishing displays, plunging headlong from the air into the water and rising with a mouthful of fish,'' Kempthorne said in the statement. ``In the same dramatic fashion, the pelican has pulled off an amazing recovery after a steep plunge toward extinction.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Louis in Chicago at blouis1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 10, 2008 12:55 EST