6.3 Conservation Opportunities and Incentives
6.3.1.2 Strategies and Recommendations Te following strategies and recommended actions highlight land conservation and management considerations with a goal of conserving wildlife of conservation concern, improving hunting and fshing opportunities for all regions of the state, and improving wildlife habitat in general. Tese strategies can be implemented through partnerships with private land owners and should be incorporated where appropriate in management of public lands. • Introduce private landowners to available programs that ft their needs, such as cost-share programs (e.g., Farm Bill programs) and technical guidance on habitat improvement (e.g., Forest Stewardship Program, Forest Landbird Legacy Program).
• Inform landowners about Present Use Value Programs to encourage the maintenance of working lands.
• Ensure that priority wildlife habitats are ranked appropriately in Farm Bill Incentive Programs.
• Incorporate forest habitat management that benefts priority wildlife species in Forest Stewardship Plans. • Ensure that partners implementing CREP have access to up-to-date data and maps of priority riparian and wildlife conservation areas.
• Use agriculture cost-share programs to target protection of priority watersheds (see Chapter 4.5 River Basins).
• Assist conservation partners (including land trusts) with purchasing or acquiring ease- ments on land with priority habitats. Rural lands around urbanizing areas are a critical priority. • Develop large-scale incentive programs designed to improve wildlife stewardship by corporate landowners (in addition to CURE). Include measures that support prescribed burning on private and corporate timber lands. 6.3.2 Public Land Stewardship Public lands include state and federal lands as well as municipal and local government parks and open space. Maintaining natural public lands and natural open space within urban areas will help to make cities more livable and may reduce the pressure to develop rural farms and woodlands. Tere is overwhelming public endorsement of conserving the land along with documentation of associated economic benefts. According to the outdoor
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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