The wood stork has been removed from the US Endangered Species Act list, marking one of the country’s most significant wildlife recovery stories.

The wading bird, once reduced to a fraction of its historic range in the southeastern United States, has rebounded after decades of wetland protection and habitat conservation. Federal wildlife officials said the population has recovered to the point where endangered-species protections are no longer needed.

The delisting is a milestone for the Endangered Species Act, which conservationists point to as proof that legal protections, backed by science and sustained funding, can bring species back from the brink.

Wood storks nest in colonies in freshwater wetlands, feeding on fish in shallow water. Their recovery depended heavily on protecting breeding and foraging habitat in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, as well as restoring natural water flows in the Everglades.

Conservation groups welcomed the announcement but cautioned that the gains must be defended. Continued monitoring will be needed to ensure that development pressure and water management decisions do not reverse the progress of the past five decades.