Wood Stork's Endangered Status Is Up In The Air

Wood Stork's Endangered Status Is Up In The Air Enlarge this image toggle caption Wilfredo Lee/AP Wilfredo Lee/AP The last few years have been especially tough in South Florida for wading birds such as egrets, herons, ibises and wood storks that feed and nest in the region's wetlands. In this part of Southwest Florida, between fast-growing Naples and Fort Myers, many of the wetlands have been drained and filled — especially one habitat that's critical for wood storks: shallow areas called wet prairies. "We've actually lost 82 percent of our wet prairies within the core foraging area for Corkscrew's wood storks," Lauritsen says. While South Florida historically has been the center of the wood stork's breeding population, development and dry conditions have forced the birds to feed and nest elsewhere.