4.2 Aquatic Communities
• Participate in mutual planning with adjacent states for regional species concerns, because some priority species are likely to expand their range due to climate change impacts. • Plant riparian areas with vegetation with a broad elevational range within a particular watershed. Also plant vegetation with broad hydrologic tolerance to promote resilience from climate change. Conservation Programs and Partnerships. Conservation programs, incentives, and partnerships should be utilized to the fullest extent to preserve high-quality resources and protect important natural communities. Protective measures that utilize existing regula- tory frameworks to protect habitats and species should be incorporated where applicable. Land conservation or preservation can serve numerous purposes in the face of anticipated climate change and promote ecosystem resilience overall.
4.2.9 Medium River Communities 4.2.9.1 Ecosystem Description
Medium river communities drain watersheds 200 to 3,800 square miles in size and have coolwater systems (Section 4.2.4) where they drain Mountain ecoregion watersheds and warmwater systems (Section 4.2.5) everywhere else in the state. Te Nature Conservancy notes that medium rivers have an average bankfull width of 115 feet (Anderson et al. 2014) . Te aquatic communities will have a higher proportion of warmwater species relative to cool- water species (Aquatic Habitat Guides n.d.) . Riverine aquatic communities, which include warmwater aquatic systems, are identifed in the 2005 NC Wildlife Action Plan (WAP) as a priority aquatic habitat (see Chapter 5) (NCWRC 2005) . 4.2.9.2 Location of Habitat Medium river communities are found statewide in all ecoregions. Examples include Fishing Creek, Contentnea Creek, portions of Deep and Dan rivers, and the Smith, Mayo, Haw, Black, Broad, Nolichucky, Little Tennessee, and Tuckasegee rivers. Te 2005 WAP described riverine aquatic communities as a priority habitat (see Chapter 5) (NCWRC 2005) . Adjacent terrestrial systems that may be hydrologically connected to medium river communities include foodplain forests, tidal swamp forests, and various wetland communities. Tese terrestrial systems provide habitat for species that also rely upon rivers for habitat (e.g., American Beaver, River Otter, various insects), as well as those species which rely indirectly upon the habitat by virtue of provision of habitat for their prey (NCWRC 2005) .
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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