North Carolina stretches from a ribbon of sand known as the Outer Banks along the Atlantic shore, and 1.8 million acres of estuary to black water streams and pocosins of the coastal plans through the rolling hills of the Piedmont and into the Blue Ridge Mountains. It supports a diverse array of plants and animals, from sea turtles to royal terns, and hundreds of fish and other aquatic species. It is also home to a million hunters and anglers that contribute approximately $170 million to state and local economies. This connection between natural and economic resources is clear, but the state of North Carolina also finds itself in the path of a great deal of development that threatens some of its most important habitats and species. The North Carolina State Wildlife Action Plan strives to manage wildlife to conserve economic development as well as the priority status of 371 species and 23 habitat types in the state.

North Carolina State Wildlife Action Plan

Learn more about conservation in North Carolina here and here.

SARP Contact:  Robert Curry, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Division of Inland Fisheries

Key Focus Areas:

PUBLIC USE
Jockey’s Ridge Living Shoreline Protection

INTER-JURISDICTIONAL FISHERIES
Jockey’s Ridge Living Shoreline Protection

AQUATIC HABITAT CONSERVATION
Jockey’s Ridge Living Shoreline Protection

AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES (ANS)
NORTH CAROLINA ANS Management Project
Current Status of ANS Management Plan: Early revision stage.
SARP ANS Contact: Rob Emens, North Carolina Dept of Environment and Natural Resources
For more information: http://www.ncwater.org/Education_and_Technical_Assistance/Aquatic_Weed_Control/
SARP ANS Coordinator:  Marilyn Barrett-O’Leary

Program Activity:

NOAA COMMUNITY-BASED RESTORATION PROJECTS (NOAA CRP)
Jockey’s Ridge Living Shoreline Protection 

SOUTHEAST AQUATIC HABITAT PLAN (SAHP) & NATIONAL FISH HABITAT ACTION PLAN (NFHAP)
Jockey’s Ridge Living Shoreline Protection

SOUTHEASTERN INSTREAM FLOW NETWORK (SIFN)
North Carolina Instream Flow Project
Current Instream Flow Policy:  North Carolina General Statute G.S. 143-215.22H, originally passed in 1991 and amended in 2007 and 2008, requires surface water and ground water withdrawers who meet conditions established by the General Assembly to register and annually report their water withdrawals and surface water transfers with the State and update those registrations at least every five years.  Water withdrawal permits have conditions to meet site-specific instream flow requirements.  Specifics of the water project are used as guidance towards an instream flow recommendation: proposed or existing? water withdrawal with a dam or without a dam? hydropower or water supply? federal jurisdiction or state jurisdiction or no jurisdiction? a compliance issue or riparian rights issue? Some flow recommendations may be a percentage of a low flow value while others may be variable, seasonally dependent flows based on field work and consensus among numerous stakeholders. The dichotomous key provided at the website below is an attempt to illustrate the process the Division of Water Resources of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources uses to determine the appropriate procedure.   (http://www.ncwater.org/About_DWR/Water_Projects_Section/Instream_Flow/)

SIFN participant organizations:

• North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
• North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
• Duke University, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Southern Environmental Law Center
• The Nature Conservancy

SARP Contact:  Chris Goudreau, Special Projects Coordinator, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

SIFN Coordinator:  Scott Robinson

Instream Flow Updates:

1. In 2007 the North Carolina legislature passed a bill that the Environmental Review Commission (ERC), with the assistance of the DENR, conduct a comprehensive study of water resources in North Carolina.  SIFN team participants have been monitoring the study and contributing information to the ERC.
2. Hydrologic modeling studies are underway in several of North Carolina’s major watersheds to quantify water use and supplies in a comprehensive manner.  These models will serve as the basis of the anticipated state water management plan.  State resource agencies are contracting these studies and will provide instream flow criteria for instream needs of aquatic resources.