“Conservation is critical to preserve genetic diversity and seed sources, especially for rare plants
limited to small, isolated or fragmented populations,” said Cindy Simpson, the Wildlife
Commission’s Wildlife Action Plan c oordinator. “In comp arison to wildlife species that are able
to move across the landscape, plants are at greater risk to direct impacts from threats because
they are rooted within their landscape position. ”
The Wildlife Commission developed Addendum 2 through collaboration with the N.C.
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Plant Conservation Program and the N.C.
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Natural Heritage Program.
“Plant species represent a very large proportion of our state’s total biodiversity,” said Lesley
Starke, program administrator for the NC Plant Conservation Program at the Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services. “Adding plants into the Wildlife Action Plan will expand
the scope and impact of this conservation strategy. By identifying conservation needs and
enacting conservation programs earlier for at-risk species, we hope to reduce the need to list
species.”
“Adding plants to the list of SGCN will help promote wider recognition of the role of native
plants in wildlife habitats and will help increase federal funding for plant conservation in North
Carolina,” said Misty Buchanan, deputy director for Natural Heritage Program. “This habitat -
based approach will benefit native plants, wildlife, and the habitat that supports them.”
The N.C. Plant Conservation Program manages plant conservation in the state, including
adopting a state list of protected plant species, adopting and enforcing regulations that protect,
conserve and enhance those listed species, and developing conservation programs for the benefit
of listed species. The Plant Conservation Program is also responsible for managing more than
14,500 acres of conservation preserve properties across the state which provide critical
conservation for listed plant species in North Carolina.
The N.C. Natural Heritage Program maintains a statewide inventory of native plant species that
are rare, in decline, believed to have been extirpated or presumed extinct. The Natural Heritage
Program works with the Plant Conservation Program to maintain inventory information on plant
species that are listed as Endangered, Threatened, Special Concern or Significantly Rare. The
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