The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) invites the public to review and comment on its 2025 draft of the North Carolina State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP). The Plan identifies fish, wildlife and plant species of greatest conservation need (SGCN), as well as research and management priorities for other species. It describes 40 types of aquatic, wetland and terrestrial natural communities that provide habitats important to SGCN and other priority species.
“This comprehensive Plan is meant to chart a course for conservation actions with detailed priorities to protect and conserve species and habitats,” said Habitat Conservation Director Shannon Deaton. “It captures the threats and impacts being faced today and for the next 10 years. We have benefitted tremendously from our partners, and we want to hear perspectives from residents and academia too. What are their concerns, suggestions and desires for wildlife and habitats, whether related to development, protected areas, research interests and needs and how they can participate, from a broad or localized level. People can pick and choose chapters they wish to provide feedback on, or they can provide input to all of it. This draft provides an opportunity for everyone to contribute to this important conservation blueprint. N.C. citizens should be able to visualize themselves participating in the implementation of the plan.”
The plan provides a roadmap to keep common species common and prevent the need to list a species for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. Spotlights on species and habitats are captured in Chapter 3-Species and Chapter 4-Habitats.
“We have several successful projects that came directly from implementing priorities identified in SWAP, such as the downlisting by USFWS of wood stork (Mycteria americana) from endangered to threatened and the subsequent 2023 proposal by USFWS to remove the wood stork from federal protection due to recovery of the species,” said Wildlife Action Plan Coordinator Cindy Simpson.
The draft plan includes updates from the 2015 plan with new research, biological knowledge and survey findings, plus improved conservation actions targeted at resiliency and a stronger understanding of impacts from changing weather patterns. The combination of more historical weather events (such as Hurricane Helene) and the increase of the human population along with continued growth patterns has a compounding impact on wildlife resources, which are captured in Chapter 5-Threats as well as other chapters. Information from a regional climate assessment for North Carolina included in the draft 2025 Plan was developed by the Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy (SECAS) and notes that changing climate patterns in the state will include continued increases in extreme heat and number of hot days, extreme weather and precipitation events that result in more frequent flooding, further sea level rise and associated saltwater intrusion into freshwater and inland habitats.
“We are seeing an increase in climate-related impacts to aquatic species that require cold-water habitats,” said Simpson. “Helene devastated extensive acres of forested habitats, including riparian areas that provide shade for cold-water streams. Storm debris added additional barriers for aquatic species to be able to move upstream as previously cold waters are now warming. Our coastal regions are also at a high risk of habitat loss due to climate change, characterized by intensified storms that lead to increased saltwater intrusion, resulting in the emergence of ghost forests.”
The NCWRC is responsible for managing and coordinating the SWAP in accordance with the federal State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program, managed through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). To be eligible for federal matching grants, states are required to create a SWAP and to conduct a 10-year mandatory comprehensive review and update to their Plan. NCWRC published North Carolina’s first SWAP in 2005.
North Carolina’s SWAP also includes updates and information about the numerous programs and efforts by partners and collaborators who support North Carolina’s conservation priorities. The NCWRC is working collaboratively with various partners, organizations, stakeholders and interested citizens who are providing input during the revision process.
“I cannot say enough about the amount of work our partners, especially USFWS and SECAS, have done to help us develop this revision of our Wildlife Action Plan,” said Executive Director Kyle Briggs. “Now we need your assistance to make sure we have comprehensively addressed the conservation priorities for species of greatest conservation need and at-risk habitats. We look forward to your comments to finalize this document so that it can be used as a guide for conservation actions.”
Comments to the draft version may be submitted online through the survey link located on the SWAP webpage and they will be reviewed for inclusion into the final version and sent to USFWS for approval. Anyone wishing to submit additional written comments, should first complete the online survey and then may submit written letters by email to cindy.simpson@ncwildlife.gov with 2025 Draft SWAP comments in the subject line; or if sending through USPS address it to:
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Attn: 2025 Draft State Wildlife Action Plan
1721 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1700
NCWRC is accepting comments through July 5, 2025.