6.9 Other Statewide Conservation Partners and Initiatives
and Carolina Gopher Frog. Te region includes barrier islands, marshes, riverine wetlands, pocosins, Longleaf Pine savannas, and many other Coastal Plain and coastal habitats. Te Onslow Bight Conservation Forum facilitates collaborative partnership between orga- nizations and individuals dedicated to conservation within the Onslow Bight landscape while helping to preserve mission-compatible land use adjacent to the military installa- tions. Te Forum fosters a strong collaborative relationship among regional military instal- lations, federal, state, and local agencies, and a wide array of environmental groups. Te mission of the Onslow Bight Conservation Forum is to allow open communication between the collaborating partners to achieve forum goals for the conservation, protection, and restoration of the Onslow Bight landscape. 6.9.18 Piedmont Prairie Partnership Te Piedmont Prairie Partnership is a group of natural resource professionals and land- owners who joined forces to explore opportunities and techniques for the restoration and enhancement of native prairies throughout North Carolina. Piedmont Prairies, also known as grasslands, early successional habitat, savannas, or xeric hardpan forests con- tain a whole suite of native bird and rare plant species such as Schweinitz’s Sunfower and Smooth Conefower, which are both federally listed endangered species. Te Partnership implemented the Piedmont Prairie Restoration Program, which began with collaboration between Mecklenburg County, USFWS, NCDOT, and University of North Carolina at Charlotte faculty. Since it was frst organized in 1994, several Piedmont prairie restoration projects have been implemented, including Mecklenburg County’s McDowell Nature Preserve prairie restoration (150 acres), Latta Plantation Nature Preserve prairie restoration (40 acres), Gar Creek Nature Preserve (36 acres), Shufetown Prairie Nature Preserve (18 acres), and the City of Greensboro’s Meadowlark Sanctuary Piedmont Prairie (23 acres) at Price Park. 6.9.19 Robust Redhorse Conservation Committee (RRCC) Te Robust Redhorse Conservation Committee (RRCC) was created in 1995 to improve the status of the Robust Redhorse throughout its former range. RRCC is a cooperative, vol- untary partnership formed under an MOU between state and federal resource agencies, private industry, and the conservation community. Members of the RRCC MOU are work- ing collaboratively to conserve an imperiled species and its habitat in lieu of listing the species for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Current RRCC members include: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, NCWRC, South Carolina Department of Natural
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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