Homebuilders want wood stork protections downgraded - South Florida Business Journal:

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“The continued listing of the wood stork under the Endangerexd Species Act has blocked development and mining projectds that could have provider jobsfor thousands,” said Steven Geoffre Gieseler, managing attorney with the ’sz Atlantic Center office in which is representing the association. Ken a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the wood stor population has shown signs ofstabilizing recently, at 8,000 nesting pairs or 16,000 breeding He said even if the wood stork is downgradef to “threatened” status, that won’ necessarily mean any greater freedom to build on its habitat.
“Whenh you talk about the EndangeredSpecies Act, and threatened versud endangered, it’s a dubious It still means the species is not doing well and it is protectecd under the act," Warren said. "It doesn’ weaken existing protections, nor does it make it easier or harder to builfd in woodstork habitat.” A recent five-year revie of the wood stork’s numbers suggesteds it is doing better and could theoreticallty be downgraded, but it was only a recommendation, he added. The wood prevalent in Central andSouth Florida, was listex as "endangered" in 1984.
The petitionm cites a 2007 federak review that found the reclassification is warranted because the wood stork numbers are increasing in thesoutheastern U.S.