Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for April–June 2026
Mountain Woodrat Surveys Off to a Great Start! by Andrea Shipley, Mammalogist
T he Wildlife Resources Commission’s game lands are man- aged for public recreation and for wildlife habitat. The mountain region has a diverse array of game lands and small mammal species, some of which are considered Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) or are state listed. The Allegheny woodrat and the Southern Appalachian woodrat are pack rats that are native to North Carolina. The Allegheny woodrat is state designated as “Special Concern,” which means that they require monitoring to obtain additional information on their populations, and the Southern Appalachian woodrat is designated as an SGCN in the 2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan due to a knowledge deficiency about the species in the state. To address these knowledge gaps, we are surveying our game lands to determine if Allegheny and Southern Appalachian woodrats are present. Last October, we began woodrat surveys at Sandy Mush Game Land, where we caught four woodrats, two of which were pregnant females. The capture of pregnant females, females who have signs that they’ve recently had a litter, or subadults, is important because it indicates that there is an established breeding population. Determining if there’s a breeding population helps us understand if the area needs long term monitoring. In March, we began surveys again once nighttime temperatures were holding at 40 F and above. We started by surveying Toxaway Game Land where we caught four Southern Appalachian woodrats, one of which was a pregnant female and one a subadult male. We also surveyed the Little Table Rock tract of Pisgah Game Land, including deployment of trail cameras, but were unsuccessful at detect- ing woodrats. In May, we surveyed a historical Allegheny woodrat site in Pisgah National Forest, where we caught two pregnant females. This site was previously surveyed in 2020, and it was great news to be able to verify that the colony is still actively breeding! Surveys on game lands for woodrats will continue through October on Pond Mountain, Elk Knob, William H. Silver, and Needmore game lands. These surveys will ultimately help the Scientific Council’s Mammals Subcommittee evaluate the sta- tus of both species in the future.
JONATHON GRUENKE/NCWRC
Above: Releasing an Allegheny woodrat. Below: Allegheny woodrat habitat in Pisgah National Forest.
JONATHON GRUENKE/NCWRC
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