Large River Systems

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The 2015 North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan defines 41 priority habitats for the state. More information about this habitat can be found in Section 4.2.10.

Habitat Priorities

Surveys

  • Carry out surveys todocument the distribution, relative abundance, and status of many wildlife species associated with riverine habitats. Priorities for conducting surveys need to focus on species believed to be declining, at risk, or mainly dependent on riverine communities. (Surveys Priority)
  • Conduct additional surveys for species for which current distribution information is already available or for species that are considered common (NCWRC 2005). (Surveys Priority)

Monitoring

  • Develop or enhance long-term monitoring for amphibians and reptiles (Taylor and Jones 2002). There is also a decided lack of long-term monitoring information on most bat species (Ellis et al. 2002).
  • Continue existing programs and expand monitoring of anoxic and hypoxic water conditions, particularly during spring anadromous fish spawning, summer droughts, and before and after tropical storms.
  • Install new and maintain existing USGS flow/water quality monitoring stations to collect real-time dischargeand DO data.

Research

  • Conduct studies to determine how large riverine habitats and the species that occupy the habitatrecover or change after major flooding events from hurricanes.
  • Investigate the effects of large scale snagging (removal of downed trees) within the rivers after hurricanes.
  • Conduct research to investigate population densities,population growth rates, dispersal range, and extent of property damage from Nutria burrowing and herbivory.

Management Practices

  • Make efforts toretain old growth floodplain forest (e.g., for Chimney Swifts, bats, and herpetofauna).
  • Manage flow regimes in Coastal Plain rivers as much as possible to mirror the pre-dam hydrograph.

Conservation Programs and Partnerships