Chapter 4 Habitats
preserving biodiversity, protecting native populations and their habitats, and improving degraded habitats.
Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats • Maintain connections between habitat blocks, not only to allow adjustments in range in response to climate change, but also to maintain population resilience and adaptability more generally.
• Create transportation facilities that use longer bridges at streams and wetlands to minimize impacts (and thereby reduce mitigation requirements) and provide crossing options for wildlife that often travel riparian corridors and disperse to upland communities.
• For protected and unprotected sites, control the exotic plants that are present or may potentially invade.
4.4.10.6.5 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. Protective measures that use existing regulatory frameworks to protect habitats and species should be incorporated where applicable. Land conservation or preservation can serve numerous purposes in the face of anticipated climate change, but above all, it promotes ecosystem resilience. Priority Conservation Action, Examples of Focal Species or Focal Habitats • Create cooperative programs with non-industrial foresters that promote and increase silvicultural practices (e.g., canopy gap management, longer rotations, introduction of fire), as this could benefit birds of conservation concern as well as small mammals, bats, reptiles, and amphibians. • Give high priority to protecting movement corridors that allow dispersal between habitat blocks, especially as development and roadways fragment the few remaining large tracts of habitat. • Give priority to restoring connections that are lost due to construction of four-lane highways and other roads that create near-impassible barriers for all animals except those capable of flight.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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