Chapter 3 Species
Addendum 2
prescribed fire planning in these areas, further limiting the opportunities to conduct effective burns for habitat management.
• Invasive species control is needed in nearly every disturbed site. The various forms of habitat degradation mentioned before each cause inroads for invasive species to colonize, especially in areas where the natural community matrix has been disturbed. Managing invasive species should be equal parts avoidance, control, and eradication of existing infestations. • Hydrological alterations are also very common forms of habitat degradation but may be the most challenging and least straight-forward threats to address, especially alterations related to climate change such as seal level rise and saltwater intrusion. Understanding the hydrological needs of a species or community is critical to managing for such conditions. In areas with alterations, consider options that restore historic stream flow and capacity for maintaining surface and groundwater levels. • Right-of-way maintenance is unique compared to natural areas and brings with it a specialized set of management considerations. For one, these areas can simultaneously be highly altered and provide important habitat, especially for sun-loving plant species easily out-competed by surrounding vegetation. Appropriately timed mowing regimes can be highly effective at managing a wide variety of plant habitats in rights-of-way. However, increasingly, rights-of-way are being maintained with herbicide instead of mowing for generalized maintenance focused on human uses (e.g., maintaining visibility in road shoulders and avoiding hazards in powerlines).
3.15.7 Additional Information
There has been a longstanding disconnect between the documented conservation needs for plant species and the disproportionately low funding and support for the recovery of rare, at- risk, and imperiled species. In a review of species listed under the Endangered Species Act, plants vastly exceed all other taxonomic groups in number of species listed but represent the lowest investment per species compared to all other taxonomic groups (Negron-Ortiz 2014). Making additional resources available for conserving these unique and foundational components of our natural world should be a higher priority. With the increase in North Carolina’s hu man population and the rapid pace of land use change over the past 20 years often resulting in habitat destruction and degradation, the need for plant and wildlife habitat conservation and management is more urgent than ever. The need for funding, staff, and public support cannot be overstated.
2022 Addendum 2 NC Wildlife Action Plan
3A2- 7
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