HABITAT MANAGEMENT
Partners for Green Growth
Recipients of the Partners for Green Growth cost-share program in 2024 are moving forward with their projects. • Union County holds monthly stakeholder meetings with their steering committee, planning staff, NCWRC, and other perti- nent stakeholders. The county is in collaboration with Catawba Land Conservancy and NCWRC to identify priority areas for conservation in the rural parts of the county. • Pender County continues to develop their preferred development guide and have identified regions of highest conservation value. The county plans for the preferred development guide to supplement their comprehensive plan as it is updated. • Chatham County has rehired a conservation planner position and is restarting work on their conservation dashboard and conservation action plan. • Brevard is working on reviewing their ordinances to identify opportunities to enhance conservation outcomes of development. The 2025 Partners for Green Growth cost-share program received 4 applications. Buncombe County was awarded funding to support the development of the Swannanoa Small Area Hazard Mitigation & Resiliency Plan. The planning process will begin this summer. Resilience Strategy Habitat Conservation staff led the development of the agency’s second iteration of a NCWRC Resilience Strategy. This plan identifies 45 strategies that agency takes or could take to increase resiliency of our wildlife, contribute towards the state’s greenhouse gases emission reduction targets, and ensure continued access to NCWRC infrastructure in face of changing climatic conditions. The strategy represents a cross-collaborative planning effort between Engineering Services, Inland Fisheries, Habitat Conservation, Land and Water Access, Wildlife Management, Conservation Policy and Analysis, Communications, Marketing, and Digital Engagement, and Law Enforcement. The strategy was submitted to NC Department of Environmental Quality to be included as part of the annual reports provided by state cabinet agencies. Conservation Partnerships Staff are actively involved in several conservation partnerships around North Carolina. Partnerships with notable involvement include the Triangle Connectivity Collaborative, Chatham Conservation Partnership, Natural and Working Lands Steering Commit- tee, Onslow Bight Conservation Forum, the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS), NC Bat Working Group, NC Sandhills Conservation Partnership, NC Chapter of The Wildlife Society, and the Eastern North Carolina Sen- tinel Landscape Partnership. Over the last quarter: • Staff has been active in planning the NC Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s Annual Meeting. • Staff are assisting the Onslow Bight Conservation Forum in organizing their Private Lands Working Group and developing an outreach and technical assistance program for private landowners in the Onslow Bight. • Staff is working with NC Sandhills Conservation Partnership to plan a meeting themed around land use planning and conser- vation, with plans to invite local governments within the NCSCP to participate. • Staff facilitated a quarterly Triangle Connectivity Collaborative meeting on local government land use initiatives. • The Natural and Working Lands Steering Committee completed the 2024 update to the state’s Natural and Working Lands Action Plan, as mandated by Executive Order 305. This plan guides the state in using natural and working lands to increase resiliency of our state to climate change and to use these lands to store and sequester greenhouse gases. NCWRC is listed as a partner in implementation of many of the state’s goal and strategies.
73 2025 WILDLIFE DIVERSITY PROGRAM ANNUAL REPORT
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