Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
Management recommendations include the need to protect known breeding sites as well as nearby and surrounding uplands; restore degraded sites and maintain existing sites through application of prescribed fire during appropriate seasons and at required intervals; protect connectivity to adjacent breeding sites; and monitor populations for evidence of disease and pathogens so that protective measures can be designed and implemented when needed. The following information highlights management concerns for some SGCN and other priority species. Recommendations for priority management actions are outlined in Section 3.3.8. • Buffer or setback distances between nests and recreationists that prevent impacts to nesting colonies differ by species, stage of nesting (territory establishment, courting, nest initiation, egg-laying, incubation, hatching, and brooding chicks), and type of disturbance activity (e.g., pedestrian, all-terrain-vehicle, off-road-vehicle, boat, UAV). Buffer distances between nests and posted signs (and, therefore, recreationists) are recommended by Smith (et al. 2025) and Erwin (2005) for Least Tern, Black Skimmer, Common Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Royal Tern, and Sandwich Tern. For American Oystercatcher, buffers are also recommended (Sabine et al. 2008) . Once chicks are present, they are particularly vulnerable to recreationists until they have fledged. Alternatively, stewards or seasonal technicians should identify and protect broods from pedestrian and vehicular traffic that might travel closer than the optimal buffer distance. • In North Carolina, shorebirds and colonial waterbirds nest and roost on many state-owned dredged-material islands in rivers, sounds, and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The type and percentage of cover provided by vegetation on these islands should vary to provide habitat for diverse waterbird species. Vegetation management should be implemented using varied tools such as wetland-approved herbicides, prescribed burning, hand-pulling, mechanical equipment, and placement of beach-quality sand from dredging operations. Such vegetation management should be used to enhance land, marsh, and waterbird habitats on state-owned lands and on private lands enrolled in conservation programs. • Management actions need to be based on relevant data gathered through standardized surveys and monitoring, which include evaluations of population status, trends, and distribution. Examples of standardized protocols that have been used to inform management decisions include colonial waterbird nesting surveys, Piping Plover census window counts, winter Piping Plover surveys, International Shorebird Surveys, point count surveys, and marsh bird surveys. • Shorebird and colonial waterbird data are managed in online databases managed by the NCWRC; however, for migratory bird species, knowledge of population status at flyway and regional scales is necessary for conservation decision-making. Migratory bird data should be shared among conservation partners using the East Coast node of the Avian Knowledge Network data management system. The Eastern Avian Data Center is available online at http://data.pointblue.org/partners/eadc. As part of an Atlantic Flyway-wide survey of
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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