Earth Protect Blog

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.>> The ungainly yet graceful wood stork, which was on the brink of extinction in 1984, has recovered sufficiently in Florida and other Southern states that U.S. wildlife officials Tuesday proposed removing the wading bird from the endangered species list.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a news release that restoration of the wood stork’s habitat, especially in the Florida Everglades and adjacent Big Cypress National Preserve, led to a sharp increase in breeding pairs. Those numbers had shrunk to just 5,000 pairs in 1984, whereas there are more than 10,000 pairs today.

“This iconic species has rebounded because dedicated partners in the southeast have worked tirelessly to restore ecosystems, such as the Everglades, that support it,” said Shannon Estenoz, assistant Interior secretary for fish, wildlife and parks.

The wood stork also has increased its range in coastal areas of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas, officials said. The birds have adapted to new nesting areas in those states, tripling the number of colonies across their range from 29 to 99 in recent years.

Credit goes mainly to the wildlife protections provided by the Endangered Species Act, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, said Stephanie Kurose, a senior policy specialist at environmental group the Center for Biological Diversity. The act can impose restrictions on a variety of activities in areas where such species are located, such as development, mining and oil drilling. “The act saved the wood stork and it helped preserve and rebuild vital habitats throughout the southeast, which has improved water quality and benefited countless other species who call the area home,” Kurose said by email.

Wood storks have a distinctive scaly, featherless gray head and a bright white feathered body with long skinny legs. They stand up to 4 feet tall and have a wingspan of up to 5 feet.

Wood storks feed in shallow waters on fish, insects, frogs and crabs. They are the only stork native to North America.

If the wood stork is delisted, officials said it would remain protected by other laws including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Clean Water Act. — The Associated Press