3.8 Reptiles
agreements with both USFWS and NMFS in order to monitor sea turtle activity in the state. All data collected by NCWRC biologists and permitted volunteers are shared with the appropriate federal agency.
Te North Carolina Sea Turtle Program coordinates a network of more than 1,000 volunteers and collaborators that work to monitor sea turtle nesting and strand- ing activities along the state’s coastline. Four species of sea turtle nest along North Carolina’s beaches: Loggerhead, Green, Leatherback, and Kemp’s Ridley. Volunteer groups monitor beaches daily from May to August and mark sea turtle nests. Tey monitor these nests throughout incubation and inventory each nest after it has emerged to determine hatching success. Te Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network col- lects data including species, carapace mea- surements, location, and probable cause of stranding from all reported sea turtle strandings. Other turtle survey eforts have taken place in various parts of the state. Tese included recent trapping eforts in the mountains, where NCWRC biologists have detected Stripe-necked Musk Turtles, Eastern Spiny
Loggerhead Sea Turtle release (NCWRC)
Softshells, and River Cooters in aquatic habitats where they were not previously docu- mented. Surveys of streams in the Uwharrie Mountains, found in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, have recently documented additional and relatively large numbers of Gulf Coast Spiny Softshell Turtles in several drainages. Additionally, a new citizen science initia- tive called the Terrapin Tally has been formed to increase our knowledge of Diamondback Terrapins. Designed to help estimate population numbers, the Terrapin Tally is a joint project with the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve and the NCWRC.
3.8.1.4 Crocodilians Te American Alligator is the only crocodilian species found in North Carolina, occur- ring throughout much of the Coastal Plain. Once extremely rare in the state, alligators
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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