Chapter 6 Conservation Goals and Priorities
rural areas. Technical guidance assistance is available from state and federal agency partners to help develop appropriate management options.
The Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department is a prime example of a parks system that has made natural resources management a priority by conserving habitat integrity and educating the public by offering guided hikes and programs about the environment. It serves as a model for other parks and recreation programs that wish to better integrate natural resources management into traditional programming methods. Recommendations for conservation and management of both private and public lands that will benefit fish and wildlife resources and their habitats and education and outreach opportunities that will connect natural resource agencies and organizations to the broader conservation community are provided in the next section. 6.3.3.4 Strategies and Recommendations The following strategies and recommended actions highlight land stewardship strategies that can be implemented through partnerships with federal, state, and local government landowners and should be incorporated where appropriate in management of public lands. • Improve management for wildlife on existing public lands through technical assistance programs. Many city and county parks in North Carolina have been developed with human recreation as the top priority, but opportunities also exist to improve habitat management and wildlife-related recreation and education on these public lands.
• Promote conservation of open space and coordinate with regional open space and land- use planning initiatives.
• Promote development and management of greenways as natural areas that are not landscaped and manicured, especially in urban areas. Studies suggest greenways between 100 and 300 meters wide (roughly between 330 and 985 feet) provide the best wildlife habitat and corridors for dispersal when maintained in native vegetation and adjacent to canopy cover (NCWRC 2012). • Provide technical guidance that supports preserving intermediate canopy layers and understory vegetation to benefit wildlife species that use open space in urban settings. Wide trails that are frequently maintained to remove vegetation and canopy cover may disrupt sensitive species or habitats by creating breaks in the forest cover as well as introducing human intrusion. • Protect and adequately buffer high-priority habitats, especially riparian forests, floodplains, isolated wetlands, and sites with known sensitive or listed species occurrences located in urban settings or areas subject to development.
6 - 21
2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator