The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s (NCWRC) Helene Restoration Division (HRD) is developing its team and moving forward with implementing its Hurricane Helene habitat restoration plan. The 10-year plan is funded through a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to restore portions of the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests impacted by Hurricane Helene and other recent tropical storms. NCWRC created this new division last February following the signing of a Good Neighbor Agreement with the Forest Service.
HRD is currently in an assessment and prioritization phase and has initiated multiple projects that were previously identified. As an example, the first project completed by the HRD removed four damaged culverts on a USFS road on the Pisgah National Forest that blocked access to a wildlife opening and replaced those with stream ford crossings.
Learn more about the HRD in the featured article from Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine’s September/October edition.