Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for January–March 2026
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, NC Natural and Working Lands Steering Committee, 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 Car- olina Sentinel Landscape Partnership. Over the last quarter: • Staff have helped plan and execute 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 con- servation, with plans to invite local governments within the NCSCP to participate. • Staff have volunteered to participate on the Cape Fear Arch steering committee and has given a presentation on the Green Growth Toolbox during the last quarterly meeting. • Staff facilitated a quarterly Triangle Connectivity Collaborative meeting on the proposed Durham Land Development Code.
Cooperative Land Conservation
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL GRANT – The clay pad has been installed for the hoop house at the Sandhills Depot (pic attached) and construction will be complete by July 2026. This was funded by an America the Beautiful Grant to provide Sandhills and Coastal Plain native plants to landowners. It will also be used for Depot projects, including rare plant propagation and restoration of select areas on Game Lands. COMPETITIVE STATE WILDLIFE GRANT – We received cSWG funding to deter- mine population status, host plant preference, and genetic composition of frosted elfin populations in NC. This is a multi-state grant in association with FL, LA, GA, and VA that will occur over the next three years and focus on surveys in the Sandhills and Coastal Plain. We recently deployed a Survey 123 to gain the public’s assistance with sightings across the State so we can learn more about this butterfly’s distribution. BUMBLE BEE ATLAS – The Southeast Bumble Bee Atlas, a community science proj- ect covering NC, SC, GA, and TN, is preparing to kick off its 4th year of surveys. NCWRC is a primary partner, and NC leads the survey count across all four states. For information on 2025 highlights, click this link: https://www.bumblebeeatlas. org/pages/southeast-bumble-bee-atlas-2025-season-highlights~2526cbc02f d9499b933ca85ce5f35cba
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