Chapter 4 Habitats
4.4.13.6 Recommendations Because oak forest habitat remains abundant and widespread, the most critical conservation activities revolve around gathering information about the wildlife species that use it and the habitat itself. We must foster efforts to understand and implement appropriate management techniques (e.g., prescribed fire or thinning) for the benefit of the broadest array of oak forest- dependent wildlife, while taking into account specific needs of wildlife with more restrictive requirements (Artman and Downhower 2003 ; Ford et al. 2000) . 4.4.13.6.1 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
• Give priority to gathering baseline information regarding the current distribution and status of oak forest-associated species that are rare or declining. Wehrle’s Salamander Black-capped Chickadee Eastern Fox Squirrel Bats Timber Rattlesnake • Expand surveys to include species for which we know very little about current status and distribution (e.g., weasels, moles, shrews, bats, certain salamanders, and reptile species such as the Eastern Box Turtle). Whip-poor-will Nightjars Bats Small mammals Salamanders Eastern Box Turtle Reptiles 4.4.13.6.2 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.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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