NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Nearly $17 million in Deepwater Horizon oil spill money would rebuild a barrier island bird rookery off Louisiana to more than seven times its current size under a recently released plan.

The group tasked with allocating $5 billion from the 2010 spill is taking public comment through Jan. 22, and will hold a public hearing Jan. 3. Queen Bess Island was the first spot where brown pelicans were returned to Louisiana after the pesticide DDT wiped them out.

It was heavily hit by oil from the 2010 spill. The five-acre island currently hosts Louisiana's third-largest brown pelican breeding site, with 15 to 20 percent of all nests in the state. Plans call for 30 acres of pelican nesting habitat and seven acres for smaller terns and skimmers.