For years, conservation efforts at OUC’s Stanton Energy Center in east Orlando has contributed to safeguarding one of Florida’s most endangered birds — the red-cockaded woodpecker.
Federal wildlife officials now state that the species has improved sufficiently to be officially reclassified from endangered to threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The recovery effort has been aided partly by habitat management and monitoring within the 2,400-acre preserve around the energy center. This area features longleaf pine forests that serve as nesting habitats for native birds of the southeastern United States.
During nesting season, biologists carefully observe nesting cavities high in pine trees, monitoring eggs, hatchlings, and young birds…