Chapter 6 Conservation Goals and Priorities
and buffer natural communities from encroaching development and land uses that could limit use of prescribed fire as a conservation tool. The NCWRC designates Wildlife Conservation Areas for the conservation of nongame wildlife resources such as waterbird nesting areas (see 15A NCAC 10J .0101). These areas are posted and carry safety or restricted zones that limit entry or usage. Safety zones prohibit all hunting (no firearms or archery equipment allowed), and restricted zones are closed to use by the public; any entry is prohibited without written approval from the NCWRC. State game lands are managed using science-based practices and are critical to the preservation of endangered, threatened, and rare species. Currently, there are 64 game lands representing over 812,000 acres of state-owned land. There are another 40 game lands representing over 1.2 million acres owned by others (e.g., national forest and park lands, conservation easements) that are managed by the NCWRC. Several game lands have management plans that implement conservation actions for the endangered, threatened, and rare species that occur in the landscape. Game land management plans can be downloaded from the NCWRC website at https://www.ncwildlife.gov/hunting/where-hunt-shoot/game-land-management-plans. In the Coastal Plain ecoregion, Holly Shelter Game Land (Pender County) is home to 13 endangered, threatened, or rare species, including the federally endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Golden Sedge, and Rough-leaved Loosestrife, and several state-listed species, including Carolina Gopher Frog, Cooley’s Meadowrue, and Venus Flytrap. The Sandhills Game Land (Hoke, Moore, Richmond, Scotland counties) contains one of the largest and most intact remnants of Longleaf Pine ecosystems in the state and has several state- and federal-listed species such as the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Michaux’s Sumac, Rough-leaved Loosestrife, and Sandhill’s Lily. Other objectives for the NCWRC’s public land conservation are to provide public hunting and fishing access and wildlife observation opportunities that benefit all regions of the state, and to preserve wildlife migration and movement corridors. More information about public hunting access can be found online https://www.ncwildlife.gov/hunting/where-hunt-shoot. Where to fish information is available online https://www.ncwildlife.gov/fishing/where-fish-north- carolina. Prescribed fire is a management tool used on game lands to maintain the understory of the Longleaf Pine and wet pine savanna communities essential for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. Game lands include the largest intact and least disturbed bottomland forest ecosystem in the mid-Atlantic Region and some of the oldest Cypress-tupelo trees on the East Coast—many at least 800 years old. Other benefits include: • One of the largest, most intact remnants of Longleaf Pine ecosystems in North Carolina, a high-priority wildlife habitat in the Lands Management program. Among the species dependent upon this type of habitat are Northern Bobwhite Quail, a variety of
6 - 18
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator