Chapter 2 The Need for Conservation
Appendix 2-6
Success Story 6 — How Conservation Actions Help Protect Species
Green Growth Toolbox
North Carolina was recognized as the fifth fastest growing state in the nation in 2023 by the U.S. Census Bureau (Cline, 2023) . Development continues to be recognized as a leading cause of habitat fragmentation, degradation, and loss for North Carolina’s species of greatest conservation need (SGCN). The NC Wildlife Resources Commission’s (NCWRC) Habitat Conservation Division staff are tasked with commenting on permit requests for proposed development and transportation projects concerning the negative impacts of development on SGCNs and their habitat. Many of these comment requests originated from federal permitting requirements, such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 permits for impacts to jurisdictional waters, which was identified as a concern since not all development projects require federal permitting.
A significant number of development projects occur without an opportunity for NCWRC to comment on its impact on habitat; and when permits are required, projects are often too far along in their design stage to make significant impacts to reduce habitat degradation. Developments are flagged for permitting requirements when proposed site designs are submitted to local planning authorities for approval. Site designs are regulated through the county or municipality unified development ordinances, which are developed through the guidance of local comprehensive land use plans, transportation plans, and guidance documents. When considering this process, staff identified a need for NCWRC to become involved at higher levels of the planning process to help influence the conservation of wildlife in increasingly urbanizing areas of North Carolina.
The Green Growth Toolbox program was created in late 2009 to be a free resource for local governments to support their planning activities. The goal of the program is to get ahead of the development review process by introducing conservation priorities at the planning and policy stages of community development. It is a non-regulatory technical assistance program for integrating priority wildlife habitat conservation in local government land use and transportation planning. Though not intended to stop development, the program seeks to direct
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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