Pelicans and Other Colonial Nesting Birds

Because American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and other colonial waterbirds concentrate their nesting activities at a few sites, these species are highly vulnerable to diseases, predation, weather events, collisions with nearby structures, and other disturbances. At the turn of the twentieth century, colonial waterbirds played an important role in the conservation of birds in the United States. This early conservation movement inspired the creation of refuges and conservation laws to protect nesting colonies in the northern Great Plains and throughout the nation. For example, President Theodore Roosevelt issued an executive order in 1908 designating Chase Lake and surrounding habitats in south-central North Dakota as [...]