4.4 Terrestrial Communities
• Limit the development of roads or other infrastructure within large unfragmented blocks, as this would promote the development of denser human settlement or create connectivity barriers through fragmentation. • Work cooperatively with other agencies to defne sustainable forestry criteria for bio- mass production. • Allow Beaver pond complexes to develop in natural areas where direct impacts to rare species are not at issue. • Work with partners to develop property tax incentives to mitigate damages sufered by landowners. • Explore strategies to promote techniques for managing Beaver damage that minimize the loss of quantity and quality of Beaver ponds.
• Explore management strategies to eradicate undesirable species, such as bullfrogs, from wetlands.
• Maintain sufcient surrounding habitat for seasonal wetlands in order to support the life history requirements of amphibian and reptile populations. Every efort should be made to maintain continuous gradients between wetland and upland sites; roads, agri- culture, or forestry operations between complimentary sites may render them inefec- tive at supporting amphibian and reptile populations (Bailey et al. 2004) . Conservation Programs and Partnerships. Conservation programs, incentives, and part- nerships should be utilized to the fullest extent in order to preserve high-quality resources and protect important natural communities. Protective measures that utilize existing regu- latory 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 existing large blocks of habitat and restore connections between these blocks, as this will not only beneft the species in this group, but will enhance the viability of the state’s native biodiversity overall.
• Protect smaller tracts that are situated between blocks so they can function as a corri- dor between conservation sites.
• In the Coastal Plain, give a high priority to protecting movement corridors that allow inland migration away from inundating areas along the sounds and seacoast.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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