While assessed as a species of Special Concern in the NWT under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act, American white pelican has not been listed by the NWT Conference of Management Authorities on Species at Risk (CMA). In their decision not to list, the CMA noted that the NWT population's only known nesting location is outside the NWT (in Alberta). Species at risk legislation in the NWT does not have powers to directly protect the nesting area from identified threats, nor to protect the pelicans while they are at the nest. Listing would therefore not enable conservation measures or management planning that would be applicable to the nesting area. Potential future impacts of disease or parasite outbreaks were identified as a key threat to pelicans in the NWT, including avian botulism, West Nile virus, H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI or avian flu), and Newcastle disease. Insufficient information was felt to be available to conclude that these diseases are a priority driver of vulnerability for this species in the NWT. It is reasonable to consider diseases as a threat for this species in the NWT, as they would be to any species of colonial nesting bird, but the frequency and magnitude of disease effects cannot be estimated. There is ultimately a high level of uncertainty regarding potential population level impacts. To date, the diseases of concern have not been documented in the NWT. Populations of this species have been increasing in the NWT, in Canada, and in most of North America. The pelicans found in the NWT are highly mobile, are not isolated, and there is evidence of genetic mixing. In the NWT, the Wildlife Act prevents destroying or disturbing the nest of a bird when the nest is occupied by a bird or its eggs. The nesting islands in Alberta are already protected seasonally (April 15-September 15) under provincial legislation. A Transport Canada regulation prevents low altitude flights over the sites during the same period.