Chapte r 2. The Need for Conser vation
With North Carolina’s population on the rise and the state’s growth rate higher than the national average, natural habitats for wildlife are losing ground. Nongame species have had the most to lose. There has been a steady decline in species that were once common like the Golden-winged Warbler and Eastern Box Turtle.
2.1 Introduction Using the best information available, North Carolina’s previous versions of the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP, Plan) addressed local, regional, and statewide concerns across key terrestrial and aquatic habitats and identified critical knowledge gaps and future data needs. This 2025 revision provides a comprehensive review and update of the need for conservation and problems that are likely to impact wildlife and natural communities. The revised Plan identifies significant wildlife resources and critical habitats (Required Elements 1 and 2) across the state and outlines priority conservation actions (Required Elements 3, 4, and 5) for these resources. This chapter highlights anthropogenic changes to wildlife and natural community resources that emphasize the need for conservation action. Success stories that focus on implementation of SWAP priorities, leading to positive results from conservation efforts, are provided in Appendix 2. 2.2 Human Population Changes A review of numerous economic forecast and development reports provides trend and prediction information about growth patterns for the Southeast region and North Carolina. From US Census data, we know the national population grew 7.4% from 2010 to 2020. Regionally, the South was the fastest growing area in the country with a 10% growth rate. Similarly, North Carolina’s population grew from 9.5 million to 10.4 million, an increase of over 9.5%. Results from analysis of the 2020 U.S. Census data confirmed that North Carolina’s population grew sufficiently for the state to gain an additional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (Carolina Demography 2024) . • North Carolina continues to be among the leading states in population growth. Between 2022 and 2023,North Carolina added 140,000 people to its population, ranking it third in state population growth behind Texas and Florida https://carolinademography.cpc.unc.edu/2023/12/20/north-carolinas-strong- population-growth-continues.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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