Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
expected scope and severity of these threats are available in Appendix 5, as noted below. The evaluation results indicate the most likely threats to have significant impacts on mammal populations in North Carolina over the next 10 years, include the following:
• Climate change and severe weather (see Appendix 5, Table 5-12.1) • Human intrusions and disturbance (see Appendix 5, Table 5.8-1) • Invasives, problematic species and genes (see Appendix 5, Table 5.10-1)
The high-elevation forests inhabited by Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel (CNFS) are threatened by climate change and mortality of Fraser Fir and Eastern Hemlock. The Southern Flying Squirrel’s range has expanded into higher elevations, likely due to changes in seasonal temperatures and changes in habitat structure and composition. Southern Flying Squirrels pose a threat to CNFS because it is a vector of the Strongyloides robustus nematode (Weigl 2007 ). There is the threat of hybridization between Northern and Southern Flying Squirrel where they overlap (Garroway et al. 2010) . Open corridors through forests, such as roads with a width that exceeds the gliding ability of a flying squirrel, can inhibit dispersal (Kelly et al. 2013) . In some areas, CNFS are threatened by residential development. Habitat loss and fragmentation are two of the most pervasive threats to North Carolina’s wildlife. Land-use change, especially from undeveloped land into developed uses, is a critical threat to SGCN mammals. Fire suppression negatively impacts species associated with Longleaf Pines, such as Eastern Fox Squirrels and Southeastern Bats. Many small mammal populations are threatened by loss of early successional habitat across the state due to clean agriculture and timber practices. Loss of suitable roosts for bats is another important concern due to a decrease in snags in forested areas. The impacts from disease also ranked high in the threat category for the Eastern Spotted Skunk, Allegheny and Southern Appalachian Woodrats, and several bat species, including Indiana Bat, Little Brown Bat, Northern Long-eared Bat, and Tricolored Bat. White-nose Syndrome has emerged as a significant threat to bat populations in the state. Continued monitoring of bat populations in the Piedmont for WNS, especially in the Uwharrie region, is important to understanding the spread of the disease. Bats are also impacted by wind turbines. It is foreseeable that increased wind farm development in North Carolina will have adverse impacts on local and migratory bat populations. There are currently two known Red Wolf family groups, one resides on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) and the other resides on and adjacent to Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (PLNWR) (USFWS 2024) . Interbreeding with the Coyote (a native North American species that expanded its range into North Carolina in the 1980s) has been recognized as the most significant and detrimental threat affecting restoration of Red Wolves (USFWS 2016, 2023b). The USFWS has released and translocated Red Wolves into the wild population in eastern North Carolina to supplement genetic diversity in the population (USFWS 2023b)
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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