Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
Mammal Priority Species by Evaluation Categories and Comparison between SWAPs
Knowledge Gaps
Management Needs
SWAP Date
SGCN
2025
29 23 21
30 24 24
33 26 26
2020 Addendum 1
2015
The following sections highlight specific conservation issues related to SGCN and their habitats. This is not an exhaustive list of species-specific conservation concerns but rather highlights some of the concerns in the state. Recommendations for priority survey, monitoring, and research studies, conservation actions, and partnerships are outlined in Section 3.7.8. 3.7.3 Conservation Concerns Table 3-6 (Appendix 3) provides a list of Mammal SGCN and other priority species. River basin and habitat associations for these species are provided in Table 3-17 (terrestrial species). Habitat descriptions and associated conservation priorities are in Chapter 4 Habitats. The conservation needs of mammals in North Carolina are addressed mainly through habitat management, restoration, and protection. Mammals have the ability to influence vegetative communities, play a significant role in nutrient cycling, and contribute to ecosystem integrity. They can occupy a variety of habitats and are distributed from the mountains to the coast, including marine habitats. Adaptable species, such as the nonnative Coyote from North America, have successfully expanded into North Carolina, where they are found in a wide range of habitats throughout the state. Other species, like the Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel, are more restricted in their distribution, occurring only at the highest elevations where its habitat is isolated as “sky islands.” However, disease and pathogens, particularly White-nose Syndrome (WNS) in bats and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in White-tailed Deer, are major conservation issues in North Carolina that require ongoing surveillance, research, and management. Many bat species within North Carolina are SGCN due in large part to the relatively recent spread of WNS, a fungal disease affecting hibernating bats that has devastated many bat populations in the eastern United States. The NCWRC has developed a WNS Surveillance and Response Plan (2016) to coordinate a strategy for monitoring bat populations, documenting the occurrence and spread of this disease, and conducting research (NCWRC and USFWS 2016) . 3.7.4 Knowledge Gaps Species for which the Mammal Taxa Team determined there are research priorities because of knowledge gaps are included in Table 3-6 Mammal SGCN and Priority Species (see Appendix 3). In general, most of the species noted as knowledge-gap priorities are listed because we lack
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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