Stories from - NORTH CAROLINA
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Putting mussels on the path to recovery in North Carolina
On the banks of western North Carolina's Tuckasegee River, biologist T.R. Russ of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission gently pries open the shell of an endangered Appalachian elktoe mussel... Read More
Stories from - NORTH CAROLINA
View All StoriesBiologists Work to Solve Bat Mystery in Western North Carolina Mountains
In North Carolina, endangered Virginia big-eared bats (Corynorhinus townsendii virginianus) are known from only two caves at Grandfather Mountain, where they hibernate. What has puzzled biologists for... Read More
Stories from - NORTH CAROLINA
View All StoriesRed-cockaded Woodpecker Recovery: From Conflict to Collaboration
Since being designated as endangered in 1968, red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) populations across the Southeast have been in steady decline. The bird's preferred habitat of... Read More
Featured Species in North Carolina
Swamp pink
Swamp pink is a perennial herb in the lily family. It is known to occur in headwater streams and mountain bogs from New Jersey to Georgia.
Swamp pink.
Photo credit: Gene Nieminen, USFWS
Atlantic Coast piping plover
The piping plover is a dainty, sand-colored shorebird, distinguished from other small North American plovers by its pale plumage and bright orange legs. Human activities can disturb piping plovers on both their breeding and wintering grounds.
Atlantic Coast piping plover.
Photo credit: USFWS
Partnership Stories in North Carolina
Red Cockaded Woodpecker: Shared Vision, Shared Success
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners to conserve habitat for Red-cockaded woodpeckers. Other priority species identified in the Wildlife Action Plan benefit from these conservation efforts as well. More »
Found in North Carolina
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Carolina northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus) are relicts of the last ice age—as the glaciers retreated northward and temperatures rose, they found suitable habitat left behind on the high mountain tops along the ridges of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. However, the limited and discontinuous range makes them vulnerable to a number of natural and human-related impacts such as habitat destruction and fragmentation associated with the clearing of forests, introduced exotic pests, recreational and residential development, and pollution.
Photo credit: John Mays, North Carolina Resources Commission -
Roan Mountain bluet (Hedyotis purpurea var. montana) is a flowering plant found in the high mountains of North Carolina's Ashe, Avery, Watagua, and Mitchell counties. The four main flower pollinators are small staphylinid beetles, bumblebees, syrphid flies, and ants. Threats to Roan Mountain bluet come largely in three forms—commercial, residential, or recreational development at privately owned sites; and trampling of populations at accessible cliff or trail-side locations on public lands.
Photo credit: Bill Lea
