Sustainability Corner: Wood storks to be removed from the endangered species list

Photo courtesy of Monica Ferreria Ask/Wikimedia Commons

After decades of being on the endangered species list, wood storks have finally recovered enough to be removed from the list, according to The Current. The Federal Register states the birds will officially be removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife on Mar. 12, 2026. 

The wood stork is “the only stork native to North America,” as reported by Birds & Blooms. They stand at approximately three feet tall and are characterized by their white color and long bill, as described by the National Park Service. Wood storks’ heads do not have feathers like most of their body does—rather, their heads appear to be scaled. 

They are primarily found throughout South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wood storks are known to create their nests above standing water, which often consist of greenery and sticks, taking around two to three days to complete, as detailed by All About Birds. 

They eat fish and other organisms found in shallow marshlands, as detailed by USA Today. The Avian Report explains that they are a foraging species and that they are opportunistic predators. When hunting for fish, the wood stork will create a trap with its beak; they will open their beak and wait for their prey to enter, before snapping their beak shut.  

The storks were added to the endangered species list in 1984 after the storks suffered a devastating population decline—primarily due to habitat loss. Birds & Blooms states that “habitat loss had dramatically decreased the population, lowering it from approximately 20,000 breeding pairs in the 1930s to just 6,040 breeding pairs at the time the bird was listed.”

The wood stork's ability to successfully adapt has been a major factor in their recovery. USA Today reports that the storks have successfully turned golf courses into their home. Due to the birds being able to change their habits in order to accommodate new environments, they are on the road to a steady population growth. 

Billy Brooks, a former wood stork recovery lead, spoke of the successful recovery efforts, stating, “The risk of [the storks] becoming endangered is quite lessened due to the extensive breeding range, the overall range and the number of breeding colonies."

Although the wood storks’ recovery has proven to be promising, many experts have raised concerns about removing the storks from the endangered species list, as reported by the Savannah Morning News. Ramona McGee, Southern Environmental Law Center Wildlife Leader, stated, “This delisting comes at a time when species face a storm of proposed federal rollbacks to habitat protections…This drastic loss of wetlands protection will have a negative impact on the wood stork’s chances of survival.”

In contrast, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services has positively credited the Trump administration with the wood storks’ success, with Director Brian Nesvik stating, “The wood stork’s recovery is a real conservation success thanks to a lot of hard work from our partners…The Trump administration is working quickly to remove federal protections from species that no longer need them, and I’m proud that the wood stork is another example of that.” Amidst the wood storks delisting, a 10-year monitoring plan will be implemented to make sure their population numbers continue to rise, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.