Chapter 7 Monitoring
Key species (or species groups) include Swainson’s Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Henslow’s Sparrow, Bachman’s Sparrow, other grassland specialists, Wayne’s Black-throated Green Warbler, Painted Bunting, hawks, ground-nesters, cavity-nesters, and owls. Key habitats include Longleaf Pine forests, floodplain forests, early successional habitats, high- elevation forests, pocosins, nonalluvial wetlands, and maritime forests. Ideally, monitoring should continue expanding across all habitats to strengthen trend data for all species. 7.3.4 Mammals Standards and protocols for surveys and monitoring exist for some mammals and should be used to improve data matching with regional datasets. Establish and monitor bat numbers and species composition using reliable, reproducible techniques (Keeley et al. 2003) . Conservation recommendations for monitoring Rafinesque’s Big-eared Bat and Southeastern Bat include protocols for short- and long-term monitoring (BCI and SBDN 2013) . The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) is an international, multiagency program to monitor bats at local to range-wide scales that will provide reliable data to promote effective conservation decision making and the long-term viability of bat populations (Loeb et al. 2015) . Bat monitoring efforts in North Carolina (and throughout the Southeast) need to be coordinated and data shared through a unifying body (e.g., SBDN, USFS, or USGS). There is also a need for long-term survey and monitoring programs for all small mammals in North Carolina. Key habitats to focus monitoring efforts for small mammals are early successional habitats, dry coniferous woodlands, floodplain forests, and mesic and oak forests. For bats, key habitats for monitoring are caves, floodplain forests, mesic forests, and dry coniferous woodlands.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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