2.5 Conclusion
(1990). Monitoring efforts began in 1997 with the installation of wooden squirrel boxes (designed by Dr. Peter Weigl of Wake Forest University) in apparently suitable habitat (Weigl et al. 1992; USFWS 1990, 2001), and includes conducting mark-recapture surveys. The low captures and recaptures from nest boxes do not generate meaningful population estimates. Therefore, nest box data are analyzed using occupancy models and additional monitoring techniques are recommended to better understand population status and trends of this rare and elusive species. Survey sites have since been expanded to include transects within ad- ditional areas of suitable habitat. Monitoring efforts now also include using radio-telemetry, acoustic detectors, and trail cameras, and genetic research to improve our understanding of this species.
Conservation and management efforts have focused on address- ing the loss of conifer habitat and fragmentation that serves as a barrier to dispersal. Habitat loss has resulted primarily from extensive logging of the spruce- fr forest that occurred primarily between the 1880s and 1930s, followed by mortality of Fraser Fir due to Balsam Woolly Adelgid ( Adelges piceae ) and develop- ment (for recreation and second homes). In one recovery area, the only extant conifer species, East- ern Hemlock, has been lost due to
Cherohala Skyway crossing structures (Christine Kelly/NCWRC)
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid ( Adelges tsugae ). Habitat improvement measures involve enhancing the conifer component in appropriate areas by planting Red Spruce ( Picea rubens ) seedlings or managing the forest canopy around existing spruce trees through timber cuts that ‘re- lease’ existing spruce trees so the canopy is more open and they get more sunlight. In 2012, a multi-state effort, the Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative, was established with the goal of achieving landscape scale restoration to beneft Northern Flying Squirrel populations as well as other priority species (Red Crossbill and Saw-whet Owl). Fragmentation caused by the Cherohala Skyway corridor in the Unicoi Mountains resulted in a barrier to dispersal that impeded genetic mixing of populations. Road width is greater than gliding ability and road shoulders lack mature trees of suffcient height for the squirrels to successfully launch and glide across the corridor. Mitigation measures developed in 2007 and implemented in 2008 involved erecting artifcial crossing structures along the Cherohala Skyway to facilitate road crossing and to reconnect populations. Radio telemetry monitoring and trail camera images indicate some flying squirrels have successfully used the crossing structures (Kelly et al. 2013). Priorities for additional work over the next 10-year planning cycle are outlined in Chapter 3.
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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