Letter: Pride in Louisiana brown pelican

• Published: Nov 18, 2009 - Page: 8B

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Re: “Brown pelican rebounds” by Amy Wold

As a Louisiana native in my 60s, I remember being acutely aware of the loss of the brown pelican. Being a new driver, I was proud of the pelican symbol displayed on our car’s license plate and naively thought that the brown pelican was to be found only along our state’s coast.

During my eight-plus years serving out of state in the military, I continued to follow the plight of our beloved bird and cheered the reintroduction efforts.

Although I was stationed on submarines, I enjoyed port stops from Maine down to Florida, the Caribbean, and eventually into the Mediterranean.

Every location introduced me to a wide and beautiful variety of waterfowl, including brown pelicans at Cape Canaveral; and I even saw an albatross while on the surface in mid-Atlantic. Nevertheless, the brown pelican remained at the top of my favorites list.

While on a drive down to the Grand Isle, shortly after completing my enlistment in 1973, I was rewarded with my first sighting of a Louisiana brown pelican since I was a child.

How exciting that was, and it made me reflect on all the hard work that had gone into getting that one bird to re-exist in my home state.

Therein lies the rub. All those unsung workers’ accolades are neglected while a Louisiana politician and the U.S. president advertise their party’s puny part in the effort.

On reflection, this article should have been written as a feature article centered on all the working people who made it possible for a veteran to smile and enjoy our comical and clumsy fishing bird, each newly returned to Louisiana.

David Nezat
retired plant worker
Livingston