Wading bird populations are a useful tool for monitoring the function of wetlands, which are increasingly under threat throughout the world. The Indian River Lagoon on Florida’s Atlantic coast, a diverse ecosystem supporting numerous threatened and endangered species of plants and animals, is under stress due to expanding human population and sea level rise. Wading bird nest counts and density in foraging habitat on the Kennedy Space Center in the northern portion of the Indian River Lagoon have been monitored since 1987. These data were modeled to identify important environmental factors and to detect trends over time. Nesting by Little Blue Heron, Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron, and Wood Stork declined. The abundance of most species in impounded wetland foraging habitat increased during winter (December – March), but declined in other seasons for Great Blue Heron, Little Blue Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, and Wood Stork. The use of estuarine edge habitat declined for all these species and for Great Egret, and White Ibis, but not for Glossy Ibis. Evidence supported the importance of wetlands with mixtures of vegetated and unvegetated habitat for foraging, especially within 6.5 km of nesting colonies. The amount of vegetated marsh in impounded wetlands on the Kennedy Space Center has declined since 1943, and almost all spoil islands have eroded, some to the point of completely submerging. These trends in wading birds and their habitat are important for planning management of these wetlands.