GEORGIA—A small, endangered bird that thrives in old-growth pine forests is rebounding thanks to shifts in how our nation’s forests are being managed.

“It’s exciting to see red-cockaded woodpeckers thrive once again,” said Forest Supervisor Kimpton Cooper with the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas.

More than 50 years ago, the red-cockaded woodpecker was designated endangered. That’s because the kind of forest it needs to thrive—open woodlands and savannahs with large, old pines—was slowly disappearing.

Throughout the Southeast, a coordinated effort is underway to conserve and restore pine forests. The Sam Houston National Forest, located in east Texas, is one of those forests. The forest recently reached its population recovery goal of 350 potential breeding pairs of red-cockaded woodpeckers, making it the the first location west of the Mississippi River to meet its goal, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"The increased numbers of red-cockaded woodpecker breeding pairs indicates our efforts to manage the forest are working," Cooper said. "This was a group effort between our team and our partners."

The Sam Houston National Forest is also a state Wildlife Management Area cooperatively managed with Texas Parks & Wildlife; it contributed to this effort by funding wildlife habitat improvement projects.

Several factors contributed to the increase of woodpeckers on the national forest. For one, individuals at the forest focused on ways to restore health and resiliency to the landscape.

"We shifted how we managed the forest to create more woodpecker habitat,” said District Ranger Jason Roesner. "In the past, individuals only managed the habitat that immediately surrounded trees that the woodpeckers used for nesting.”

“Now, we manage for a suite of species. We know now that woodpeckers and other birds need a more open, sun-filled forest. So for decades, we have focused on opening up the forest. This has created more habitat for birds to forage.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed downlisting the red-cockaded woodpecker from endangered to threatened.