Chapter 5 Threats
(Bouchard et al. 2009; Bringolf et al. 2010; Gagné et al. 2011) and in freshwater fish (Blazer et al. 2014; Gagné et al. 2011) . Contaminants can lead to population-level impacts to species, including local extirpations.
Without appropriate stormwater BMPs, stormwater runoff following rain events can lead to erosion of cleared fields and construction sites, resulting in increased turbidity and sedimentation of nearby surface waters. Increased turbidity and sedimentation affect foraging and reproduction in streams and lakes and can lead to changes in community composition and species extirpation. Stormwater runoff also affects stream hydrology because there is more surface runoff and less infiltration. As a result, water reaches surface waters quickly, causing flows to increase quickly. An increase in imperviousness causes stream flows to increase more rapidly following rain events and subside more quickly. With less rainfall soaking into the ground, there is less groundwater to contribute to baseflows. This results in a flow regime that differs from the natural flow regime (Poff et al. 1997) . These flow regime alterations can cause changes to the aquatic community, including local extirpation of species. 5.11.2 Chemicals and Toxic Compounds – Anticipated Impacts Pesticides and herbicides are widely used to control pests and unwanted vegetation. However, they can also have unwanted deleterious effects on wildlife, especially if they are used in an unapproved manner. The agricultural insecticide DDT was banned due to environmental impacts. Increases in Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon populations are partially attributed to the ban on DDT. Lead shot, such as that used in ammunition and fishing line sinkers, has health implications for wildlife because of the potential for acute toxicosis from ingestion of the lead (Scheuhammer and Norris 1995; Keel et al. 2002; Butler et al. 2005; Clark and Scheuhammer 2003; Samour and Naldo 2005; Fisher et al. 2006; Hunt et al. 2006; Martin et al. 2008; Stevenson et al. 2005; Strom et al. 2005; Thomas et al. 2009; Pierce et al. 2015) . Hunting regulations in North Carolina prohibit the use of any shotgun shells containing lead or toxic shot while hunting on any NCWRC-posted waterfowl impoundment. Pesticides and herbicides can impact wildlife that inhabit areas treated or areas adjacent to treated areas that receive overspray or drift, or through runoff from treated areas that reaches surface waters. Pesticides and herbicides can impact wildlife in several ways, such as reducing the foraging or prey base, damaging wildlife habitat, or direct contamination (Freemark and Boutin 1995) . Pollutants can have various physiological effects on birds, causing stress and mortality of young and adults (Fry 1995) . Research initially focused on the potential lead poisoning in upland game birds but has expanded to include waterbirds that eat lead pellets or ingest lead sinkers and mammals that scavenge the remains of harvested animals (Thomas 2013) . There has been a growing awareness and concern about human ingestion of lead fragments from harvested game animals and the potential for serious lead exposure (Dobrowolska and Melosik 2008; Kosnett 2009; Iqbal et al. 2009; Knott et al. 2010; Pain et al. 2010; Thomas 2013) . Thomas (2013) suggests that the reluctance of hunters and
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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