Chapter 5 Threats
5.7 Biological Resource Use
This threat category considers the consumptive use of wildlife biological resources that may be deliberate (e.g., hunting, harvesting) or unintentional (e.g., fisheries bycatch, accidental mortality) (Salafsky et al. 2008) . Hunting, trapping, and collecting animals, including shellfish harvesting, turtle egg collection, pest or predator control, and persecution, are considered a biological resource use. Harvesting aquatic wild animals and plants for commercial, recreation, subsistence, research, or cultural purposes, and for population control are also consumptive uses (Salafsky et al. 2008) . Other biological resource uses include clear-cutting of natural hardwood forests, fuel wood collection, charcoal production, and other activities related to harvesting natural stands of trees and woody vegetation for timber, fiber, or fuel uses (Salafsky et al . 2008) . Regardless of the reason, method, intentionality, or end use, this category essentially deals with the removal of plants or animals from a particular ecosystem or habitat. The removal may be selective (i.e., only certain plants or animals) or indiscriminate (e.g., clear-cutting). 5.7.1 Anticipated Impacts Removal of plants or trees can alter habitat and disrupt food webs and energy and nutrient cycles. When the removal is limited, the impacts may be negligible or confined to a single species. Large-scale removals can result in a change of habitat type, such as from a forest to early successional habitat. Animals and other plants that rely on the removed plant species or original habitat type may be negatively impacted, while other plants and animals may take advantage of the open niche or changed conditions. For example, removal of only oak trees from a forest can be expected to affect species that rely on hard mast, such as White-tailed Deer and Wild Turkey. However, most selective vegetation harvest in North Carolina is not done at a scale to cause shifts in community composition. Shifts in habitat type from large- scale, non-selective harvest will be beneficial to some species but may offer opportunities for invasive species to become established or spread. Conversion to early successional habitat will profit certain birds and butterflies but may also allow Kudzu to take over. Removal of fish and wildlife may not only affect the population size and structure of the species harvested, but also can impact other species, both plants and animals, in the community by altering the food web and other species interactions. Again, certain species may benefit while others are harmed. Removal of wild animals from terrestrial systems is generally limited to hunting, trapping, and collecting. Selective harvest of most game and furbearing species is typically not an issue. However, negative impacts can occur to nongame species, such as terrestrial animals, aquatic animals, and sea turtles, from intentional harvest of eggs or adults. Snakes are often killed for
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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