Chapter 4 Habitats
Addendum 2
4.4.19.6 Recommendations
To reduce the possible impacts from habitat fragmentation, fire suppression, and climate change, conservation or restoration of landscape connections is most important for Piedmont and Coastal Plain Oak Forests. Although oak forest habitat remains abundant and widespread, because of the rapid land development and conversion, the most critical conservation activities revolve around securing land from these activities. Other needs include gathering information about the habitats themselves but also the wildlife species that utilize these habitats, and the unique plants associated with them. Management of these habitats can be better informed by continuing to develop techniques for safe and beneficial controlled burning.
Surveys. Distributional and status surveys need to focus on species believed to be declining or mainly dependent on at-risk or sensitive natural communities.
• Give priority to gathering baseline information regarding the current distribution and status of oak forest-associated species that are rare or declining (e.g., Eastern Fox Squirrel, Timber Rattlesnake, several bat species , Schweinitz’s Sunflower, Dwarf- flowered Heartleaf, Georgia Aster). • Expand surveys to include species for which we know very little about current status and distribution (e.g., Whip-poor-will, weasels, moles, shrews, bats, certain salamanders, and reptile species such as the Eastern Box Turtle). Monitoring. Long-term monitoring is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health over time and gauging the resilience of organisms to a changing landscape and changing climate. These efforts will inform future decisions on how to manage species and their habitats. Studies should identify population trends and assess impacts from conservation or development activities. Long-term monitoring sites need to be identified and monitoring protocols developed for all priority species. Monitoring plans should be coordinated with other existing monitoring programs where feasible. • Track oak habitat trends (e.g., rate of loss or conversion of the habitat and disease or pest affects) and consider trends in the development of long-term monitoring strategies for oak forests of the region.
• Track the effects of fire on species in these habitats, especially rare and poorly understood species.
2022 Addendum 2 NC Wildlife Action Plan
4A2- 9
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