4.3 Wetland Natural Communities
• Where practical, restore marsh habitat by flling drainage ditches and installing ditch plugs and water control structures. Ditches may accelerate erosion and the efects of rising sea level such as saltwater intrusion.
• Protect suitable nesting habitat for sea turtles and beach-nesting birds to maintain robust populations as disturbance and sea level rise issues mount.
• Continue working with the US Army Corps of Engineers and others to direct dredged material or conduct other management actions to refurbish waterbird nesting islands.
• Continue coordination with the NC Division of Marine Fisheries to minimize bycatch of protected/priority species in fshing gear. • Control or minimize the amount of large gull depredation on other beach-nesting birds. Tese large gulls did not nest in the state until recent decades but are now greatly increasing in number and are causing more pressure on beach-nesting bird populations. 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, but above all, it promotes ecosystem resilience. • Protect tidal freshwater wetlands in rivers and upper sounds, some of which will become the extensive estuarine communities in the future. Salt and brackish marshes will beneft from this. • Protect bufers and foodplain rivers, as this will beneft estuaries by reducing pollutant input and reducing drastic changes in freshwater input. • Protect inland tidal freshwater wetlands, which will become extensive estuarine com- munities in the future, and allow the barrier islands to migrate and new inlets to form. • Focus on land acquisition and protection for a number of heronries (e.g., Rawls Island) on the mainland side of Pamlico Sound where brackish marshes are in private own- ership. Acquisition targets should include brackish marsh impoundments, which will then require continued management for maintenance. • Protect habitats in large enough patches to sustain priority species, reconnect frag- mented habitats, restore habitats that have been lost or converted, enhance the function
324
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online