Restoration Success: Flamingos Flock Back to This National Park

The elusive American flamingo is flocking back to Florida, the United States, partly due to an impressive, comprehensive restoration plan to bring wildlife back to the Everglades.

“It was rather amazing to start seeing [American flamingos flocking back to Florida] because just about 15 years ago, we started tracking these birds and we would get six to seven sightings per year, and then this year, within a few days, we had hundreds of sightings,” explains Jerry Lorenz, Audubon Florida’s director of research and an alumnus of the Rosenstiel School. 

Flocks of flamingos have been spotted in the recent weeks and months, mainly in the Everglades National Park. In 2000, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was approved by Congress to “restore, preserve, and protect the South Florida ecosystem while providing for other water-related needs of the region, including water supply and flood protection,” injecting $10 billion over 35 years to help bring back wildlife in the area. Today, CERP is the world’s largest collective ecosystem restoration project to restore the Everglades to their former glory. Consequently, wading bird populations are returning to the river of grass, including roseate spoonbills, herons, and wood storks.