Chapter 2 The Need for Conservation
Appendix 2-1
Success Story 1 — How Conservation Actions Help Protect Species
Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel
There are two species of flying squirrels in North Carolina - the Northern ( Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus ) and Southern ( Glaucomys volans ). Carolina Northern Flying Squirrels (CNFS) are found on high mountain peaks in southwest Virginia, western North Carolina, and eastern Tennessee in spruce-fir and northern hardwood forests. Flying squirrels are nocturnal, spending the day denning in tree cavities or dry nests filled with shredded Yellow Birch bark. At night, they forage principally on certain fungi and lichens, supplementing their diet with plant buds, catkins, fruits, sap, insects, small vertebrates, and eggs. The CNFS was federally listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1985 and has been identified as a priority species for conservation (or SGCN) in NC’s State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP). North Carolina’s SWAP identified the need for surveys to determine the distribution, relative abundance, and status of wildlife species associated with northern hardwood and Spruce-Fir forests, including CNFS. Recommendations also called for use of monitoring
programs to assess current population status and trend information; research studies on the population biology of wildlife species as well as the ecological relationships between the species, their habitats, and the biological, physical, and chemical habitat components; genetic studies to explore the degree of genetic isolation of species restricted to high elevations;
Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel (NCWRC)
and support of collaborative research with colleges and universities. To date, work has involved partnerships with USFWS, USFS, NPS, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), NCDOT, Duke Energy, Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative, Southern Highlands Reserve, Warren Wilson College, WildSouth, and Deltec Homes. Cooperative research efforts have involved NC State University, Auburn University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), and the University of NC at Wilmington. Even before the first SWAP was published, annual survey and monitoring of CNFS populations was conducted within seven of the eight Geographic Recovery Areas identified by USFWS (1990) . Monitoring efforts began in 1997with the installation of wooden squirrel boxes (designed by Dr. Peter Weigl of Wake Forest University) in apparently suitable habitat (Weigl et al.1992;, USFWS 1990,
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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