Chapter 4 Habitats
4.3.3.6 Recommendations Land acquisition will play a vital role in protection of the future shoreline. Because dramatic movement of these communities is probably inevitable as sea level rises, one of the most important things that can be done to help them adapt is to protect areas where they can migrate to. Protection of low-lying shoreline areas that would allow for inland migration is difficult but would provide important benefits. 4.3.3.6.1 Surveys Surveys are systematic and scientific methods of collecting information about the distribution, abundance, and ecology of wildlife or their habitats in a specific area at a specific time. A habitat survey is a method of gathering information about the ecology of a site. The results of a habitat survey provide basic ecological information that can be used for biodiversity conservation, planning and/or management, including targeting of more detailed botanical or zoological investigations (Smith et al. 2011) . Repeated surveys using the same methods can provide information about conditions and changes to species assemblages and habitat composition over time. Priorities for conducting distributional and status surveys need to focus on species believed to be declining or mainly dependent on at-risk or sensitive communities.
Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats
• Identify and designate strategic habitat areas for marine and coastal fishery species (Cape Fear River Basin) (NCDEQ 2021) .
• Update NC Division of Coastal Management’s NC Coastal Region Evaluation of Wetland Significance (NC CREWS) estuarine shoreline maps (NCDEQ 2021) .
• Continue collecting, analyzing, comparing, and sharing baseline measurements for a variety of North Carolina wetland types (NCDEQ 2021) .
4.3.3.6.2 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
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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