This proposal is intended to increase the likelihood of tolerance and survival of red wolves occurring on private lands within the five county recovery area the remaining wild red wolves are primarily…

This $290,000 cooperative agreement awarded by the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 4 will fund habitat improvement and conservation efforts to increase the likelihood of tolerance and survival of red wolves on private lands within the five-county North Carolina red wolf recovery area through July 2027. Under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation will work with private landowners and conservation partners to improve habitat for red wolves and their preferred prey by increasing early successional and wetland habitats through practices such as creating riparian areas, treating invasive species, and establishing managed vegetation. Landowners will contribute to habitat improvement costs and allow red wolves to inhabit their property, while also providing project partners access for monitoring and management activities.

This proposal is intended to increase the likelihood of tolerance and survival of red wolves occurring on private lands within the five county recovery area the remaining wild red wolves are primarily located on and around alligator river and pocosin lakes nwrs with a territory of up to 80 square miles, private lands near these refuge lands remain important for red wolves as travel corridors, foraging habitat, and denning locations by working with conservation partners and willing landowners, we will increase the prey base and improve habitat conditions on these private lands IT is also imperative to build relationships with landowners and continue to build trust between landowners and the USFWS strategies to achieve these goals include improving habitat for the wildlife that landowners value and prey that red wolves prefer by increasing the amount and quality of early successional and wetland habitats, we will improve conditions for small mammals and white tailed deer habitat improvement will be tailored to each site and the landowners interests practices may include creating riparian areas, wildfire risk reduction, brush management, treating invasive plant species, establishing and managing early successional vegetation, and planting trees landowners will contribute a portion of the costs of habitat improvement practices in addition, they will agree to allow red wolves to enter and inhabit their property other allowances may provide for the service and NC wildlife federation staff and or other project partners to access the property to conduct monitoring and management activities