Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for July–September 2025
• We received funding through a multi-state cSWG to conduct research on the frosted elfin, a butterfly SGCN listed in our 2025 SWAP update. With this funding, we will be partnering with NCSU to determine baseline population information as well as their larval host plant and habitat preferences so we can appropriately monitor and manage populations on Game Lands.
• We hosted a field workshop for private landowners on the Sandhills Game Lands that focused on herbaceous groundcover enhancement and restoration in longleaf ecosystems. We had speakers who dis- cussed the benefits of prescribed fire, native plants, beneficial insects, and herps. With funding received through an America the Beautiful grant, we hope to continue these workshops in the coming years. • Staff reviewed a report by Center for Large Landscape Conservation titled “Integrating Wildlife Habitat Connectivity into Local Government Planning”. This report described examples of conservation initiatives and strategies utilized by local gov- ernments across the United States. The Green Growth Toolbox is a case study in the report and includes two examples from North Carolina that involved technical assistance from WRC staff: the Triangle Connectivity Collaborative’s A Landscape Plan for Wildlife Habitat Connectivity in the Eno River and New Hope Creek Watersheds and the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Wildlife Crossings Plan. https://largelandscapes.org/wp-content/uploads/Integrating-Wildlife-Habitat-Connectivity-in- to-Local-Government-Planning.pdf
Conservation Partnerships
• 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 have been assisting the Eastern North Carolina Sentinel Landscape Partnership in updating the “Spaces Between the Bases” project to improve its relevancy for the partnership, to include updated information on conservation, military, and agricultural priorities and development growth models. • Staff have worked with SERPPAS to help coordinate the annual Principals meeting in November in Southern Pines. • Staff provided input for WRC on the 2025 update of the state’s Natural and Working Lands Action Plan. • Staff completed the final draft of WRC’s Resiliency Strategy 2025, which includes additional strategies identified by the Com- munications, Marketing, and Digital Engagement Division, the Law Enforcement Division, and the Office of Conservation Policy and Analysis, as well as updates from the Habitat Conservation Division, Inland Fisheries Division, Wildlife Manage- ment Division, Land and Water Access Division, and the Engineering Division.
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