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Organizations Helping to Protect Endangered Species in North Carolina

While species extinctions occurred long before man, man's influence has significantly increased the rate by which they now occur. In North Carolina alone, nearly 1,300 of the state's more than 7,000 plant and animal species are considered rare, threatened or endangered. Thankfully, a number of public and private organizations are working to safeguard these species for future generations.

Federal Agencies
- The largest terrestrial salamander in the world, the Eastern tiger salamander is threatened in North Carolina.
  
  As the principal federal agency responsible for administering the nation's Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish &Wildlife Service (FWS) leads the recovery and protection of imperiled species and their habitats through innovative public/private partnerships, land use planning and the application of scientific expertise. When a species is listed, the agency develops and implements recovery plans for conserving the species and its ecosystem. The FWS has jurisdiction over North Carolina's 70 federally listed species, with the exception of the marine mammals and sea turtles, which are under the jurisdiction of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
State Agencies
- Though de-listed at the federal level, peregrine falcons remain on North Carolina's endangered species list.
  
  The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has regulatory responsibility for the North Carolina Endangered Species Act, protecting all imperiled animals except insects. Plants and insects fall under the regulatory jurisdiction of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture's Plant Conservation Program. Both agencies regulate the possession, sale, trade or export of their respective protected species. The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, a non-regulatory agency, collects and tracks data on the state's endangered, threatened and rare species.
Widlife Conservation Groups
- The endangered northern flying squirrel benefits from highway crossing structures installed by coalition member groups.
  
  The North Carolina Teaming with Wildlife Coalition represents more than 150 organizations and businesses from across the state, working together to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered. The coalition is led by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, a more than 60-year-old group dedicated to protecting North Carolina's wildlife and its habitat. Coalition member organizations include Audubon of North Carolina, which helps conserve and restore habitats, with a focus on nesting birds; the North Carolina Partners in Amphibian &Reptile Conservation, whose diverse members conserve reptiles, amphibians and their habitats; WildLaw, which litigates to protect species under the Endangered Species Act; and the Western North Carolina Nature Center (wildwnc.org), which is actively participating in the state's red wolf reintroduction program.
Land Trusts
- Populations of the federally endangered wood stork have declined due to loss of wetland habitat.
  
  Survival of North Carolina's threatened and endangered species depends on the availability of habitat. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources reports that North Carolina leads the nation in the loss of farm and forested lands, losing more than one million acres in 10 years. The Conservation Trust of North Carolina protects the state's lands and waters through direct conservation and in cooperation with 23 local land trusts. As of 2010, the state's local land trusts collectively held easements on 150,000 acres of open space and have helped to purchased another 150,000 acres.

Nature