Florida鈥檚 Everglades once boasted wood storks as far as the eye could see. But for five of the past six years, 约炮视频鈥檚 鈥攚hich at its peak had 6,000 nesting pairs鈥攈as seen no nests at all (see 鈥Bait and Switch鈥). The problem is food, says Jason Lauritsen, Corkscrew鈥檚 acting director.
This 约炮视频 priority species needs water deep enough to support an abundance of fish but shallow enough for adult birds to hunt. 鈥淭his was the breadbasket for wood stork production historically,鈥 Lauritsen says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e lost 82 percent of core foraging areas.鈥 To stop the bleeding, as he puts it, 约炮视频 and its allies worked out a settlement with a developer who鈥檚 building on 562 acres of wetlands.
The agreement will preserve water flow patterns between the sanctuary and the Gulf of Mexico鈥攑roviding the precise levels that endangered wood storks need for foraging鈥攚hile also protecting and restoring large swaths of vital wetlands. Despite the construction, the deal will ultimately result in an ecological net gain of acreage, Lauritsen says. 鈥淭he benefits from this settlement are going to directly answer the greatest need for wood storks.鈥
This story originally ran in the January-February 2013 issue as "Pop the Cork for Storks."