Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats • Survey habitat for Timber Rattlesnakes in the mountains and Piedmont to determine gestation and overwintering locations to protect and monitor these sites. • Conduct surveys for turtles in the Coastal Plain to determine where healthy populations still occur and implement conservation efforts accordingly. Chicken Turtle Diamondback Terrapin Spotted Turtle • Focus survey efforts on learning more about the distribution and population status of glass lizards, both in the Coastal Plain and in the Piedmont. Eastern Glass Lizard Eastern Slender Glass Lizard Mimic Glass Lizard • Implement survey recommendations in protected species conservation plans. • State-protected species conservation plans are available online https://www.ncwildlife.gov/wildlife-habitat/species-conservation-plans. • Federal-protected species recovery plans are available online https://www.fws.gov/program/recovery/recovery-plans. 3.8.8.2 Monitoring Monitoring involves repeated observation and recording of specific parameters to show trends over time. Long-term monitoring that includes statistical and quantitative analysis in the design is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health and gauging the resilience of organisms to changing conditions (Gitzen et al. 2012, Lindenmayer and Likens 2009) . Monitoring efforts should include identification of population trends, as well as assessment of impacts from conservation or development activities. These efforts will inform species and habitat management decisions. Long-term monitoring sites need to be identified and monitoring protocols developed for all priority species. Monitoring plans should be coordinated with other existing monitoring programs where feasible. Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats • Monitor priority reptile species that are perceived as declining or rare, especially upland snake species, including the following. Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake Southern Hognose Snake Northern Pine Snake Timber Rattlesnake • Continue to monitor Bog Turtle populations annually using mark-recapture and intensive habitat surveys. Bog Turtle
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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