Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats • Protect bat roosting sites for all priority bat species, particularly those that are known roost sites for species affected by WNS.
• Restore high-elevation forests for Carolina Northern Flying Squirrels.
• Mammal SGCN living at the edge of developed areas may face threats from predation by free-roaming cats and dogs, persecution by humans, road traffic, and disturbance. Fencing could be erected in some situations, especially along transportation facilities, to reduce exposure of wild mammals to such threats. • Maintain existing wildlife corridors or develop and protect new movement corridors to reduce conflicts in developed areas and in transportation corridors. Retention of wildlife corridors, such as undeveloped land, riversides, woodland strips or other habitat through which mammals can pass, may reduce or help mitigate impacts of development and subsequent habitat fragmentation.
• Create uncultivated margins around agricultural or pasture fields to benefit small mammals (i.e., rodents, rabbits, shrews).
• Maintain undisturbed refugia adjacent to land during active harvests (crops or timber), mowing, or when conducting prescribed burns. This allows mammals to avoid being trapped so they can escape to nearby cover.
3.7.8.5 Conservation Programs and Partnerships Conservation programs, incentives, and partnerships should be used to the fullest extent to preserve high-quality resources and protect important natural communities. Protection measures that use existing regulatory frameworks to protect habitats and species should be incorporated where applicable. Land conservation or preservation serves numerous purposes in the face of anticipated climate change, but most notably, promotes ecosystem resilience.
Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats
• Use programs such as the Wildlife Conservation Lands Program to protect, manage, and restore habitat on private lands.
• Implement the state-listing process by routinely evaluating conservation status and recommending legislative updates to revise the state species lists.
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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