The Florida Home Builders Association is hopeful that a rebounding population of wood storks will eventually clear the way for new development and jobs.
A 2009 review indicated that rising stork populations warrant downlisting from "endangered" to "threatened." Since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put the big birds on the endangered species list in 1984, attendant environmental restrictions have slowed or prohibited development near stork habitat areas throughout the Southeastern United States.
"Development has been severely impacted" by the storks' perch on the endangered list, says Keith Hetrick, general counsel for the Florida Home Builders Association in Tallahassee.
The FHBA instigated the federal review when the homebuilders noted that the Fish and Wildlife Service had not conducted its required five-year review of the storks' status. A court ordered the agency to proceed.
"If they're going to list, they can't just keep them there forever," Hetrick said.
Florida biologist Steve Godley says the numbers clearly show that the wood stork should be downlisted.
"The last survey showed 11,200 nesting pairs across the Southeast. They were down to 2,700 pairs in the 1970s," Godley said.
Florida's wood stork population has grown inarea as well, though not as rapidly. Scientists can't explain why, except to note that the birds are now turning up in parts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina where they haven't been before.
Audubon of Florida argues that the Fish and Wildlife Service needs to be careful about any final downlisting decision, which could ultimately lead to delisting.
Audubon officials point to their 13,000-acre Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, which has historically hosted the nations largest nesting rookery for wood storks. Sanctuary director Jason Lauritsen reports that average annual nesting productivity at the Collier County refuge has fallen from 4,500 fledges in the 1960s to around 950 today.
Godley doesn't dispute those numbers, but he says the wood storks' increasing range and population are healthy indicators. That, in turn, should be a bullish sign for Florida's faltering real-estate and development industry.
"The science finds this increase. We don't know why (Audubon) doesn't want to acknowledge the good things we've done," Godley told Sunshine State News.
Even if the wood stork is downlisted to "threatened," Godley said that won't immediately change the rules for developers and builders in Florida.
"You still have to show you're not affecting the foraging habitat for 12 to 18 miles," said the biologist.
But downlisting to "threatened" is the first step to delisting altogether. At that point, the regulatory rules loosen considerably or disappear.
Noting that FHBA has worked with environmentalists and regulators to save gopher tortoises and other wildlife that may stand in the way of development, Hetrick said there needs to be a balancing act.
"Restrictions shouldn't be overly burdensome," he said.
Hetrick added, "The environmental community is always suing to put species on the (endangered or threatened) list. We file suit to take them off the list if warranted. Fact is, it's easier to put on than to take off."
Ultimately, Godley said everyone's goal should be to savethreatened and endangered species and delist them all.
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Reach Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
