Property: Has Text
From NC Bird Conservation
N
Increase buffer widths to mitigate impacts from pollution into river systems and to maintain habitatat the edge of these aquatic communities that will provide cover and foraging areas for many wildlife species using riverine habitat. +
Pursue land acquisition and easements through cooperation with land trusts in an effort to increase the width of riparian buffers and create larger patches of connected habitat. +
Protect remaining examples and surrounding forests. Sites should be protected from human disturbance, including locations that are already protected through conservation measures. This may be through closure during particular times of the year or permanently prohibiting use of the site. +
Given the relative rarity of low-elevation rock outcrops across the state, measures need to be taken to conserve as much of this habitat as possible. This includes preservation measures, as well as conservation/management measures to ensure that species that rely upon these outcrops continue to be afforded the desired variety of habitat conditions into the future. +
Close sites to stop direct (trampling, loss of habitat to recreation developments such as trails, vistas, etc.) and indirect (disturbance) human impacts. +
Use easements and land acquisition to protect from long-term impacts such as housing development. +
Make remaining coastal maritime habitats a priority for land acquisition efforts. Though coastal uplands are essentially the most costly areas to acquire in the state, it is essential to acquire remaining undeveloped maritime forests, both on barrier islands and on the mainland. +
Pursue reestablishment of maritime forest habitats, including initiation of prescribed burning of appropriate maritime habitats, where possible. +
Continue coordination with waterbird working groups such as the North Carolina Waterbird Committee, the [[Piping Plover]] Recovery Team, the [[American Oystercatcher]] Working Group, and the [[Royal Tern]] Working Group. +
Implement future recommendations from the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan (Kushlan et al. 2002). +
Create cooperative programs with non-industrial foresters that promote and increase silvicultural practices (e.g., canopy gap management, longer rotations, introduction of fire), as this could benefit birds of conservation concern as well as small mammals, bats, reptiles, and amphibians. +
Give high priority to protecting movement corridors that allow dispersal between habitat blocks, especially as development and roadways fragment the few remaining large tracts of habitat. +
Give priority to restoring connections that are lost due to construction of four-lane highways and other roads that create near-impassible barriers for all animals except those capable of flight. +
Ensure that conservation actions include land acquisition, easements, and protection to promote remaining large, unfragmented tracts as well as management to maintain and reestablish mesic forest. This is a relatively rare forest type and great effort should be made to protect mesic forests and their species assemblages. Conservation of larger natural areas that include adjacent communities will lead to greater viability for all communities present. +
Work with partners like Prescribed Fire Council and the Fire Learning Network to reinstate prescribed burning, which is perhaps the most important action that can make oak forests better able to withstand climate change. +
Create wildlife passages along highways and protect undeveloped connections. +
Identify and protect strategically important areas. +
Site protection and protection of surrounding areas through land acquisition or easements and cooperation with land trusts are urgently needed, as large acreages (>500 acres) are frequently clearcut all at once for agriculture, pine conversion, or development. +
Restoration efforts may be possible in some cases through partnerships with land trusts, the Nature Conservancy, and state and federal agencies. +
Make particular effort to protect examples at the higher elevations, where the community is likely to persist and where the seed source for migration to higher elevations will primarily come from. +