Lara Pacifici

This effort will help in the development a comprehensive management plan for the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) in the Bladen Lakes region, which includes Jones and Singletary Lake State Parks and Bladen Lakes State Forest. This area may one day may act as a corridor for linking, sustaining, and buffering Sandhills and Coastal Plain RCW populations. Due to limited personnel and other resources, monitoring of these populations has been inconsistent for many years. Therefore, this intern will be collecting extremely important data that will enable forest and park staff to make informed management decisions that will support the growth and recovery of these RCW populations. Students will be trained to monitor RCW populations, which will include cavity inspections and surveying upland pine habitat for new cavity trees. Other duties may include conducting visual surveys of RCWs, vegetation sampling, and GIS data creation and editing. This position will require the student to work independently in hot, humid weather in the presence of biting insects.

One undergraduate student from the NCSU Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences Program will assist the Waterbird Management and Investigations Program of the Wildlife Diversity Section of NCWRC during Summer 20 14. During the internship, the student will provide assistance to the Wildlife Diversity Biologist and Technician during ongoing and new projects of the Waterbird Program. The student will help with monitoring and surveys of Wood Stork nesting colonies, colonial waterbird nesting colonies (terns, Black Skimmers, gulls), nesting territories of American Oystercatchers and Wilson 's Plovers, and nesting pair s of Piping Plovers. As needed , student will help maint ain posted nesting sites, and provide outreach information to recreationists. The student will be responsible for field supplies and equipment ; assisting with boat operation and maint enance ; navigation; mapping territories of nesting bird s; recording data at nesting sites; maintaining Excel, GPS, and GIS data; maintaining a personal work journal; and other duties assigned by their supervisor. The student will be taught species identification, species behaviora l attributes, equipment operation, mapping and navigation skills, data recording procedures, and other skills as needed. The projects with which the student will assist the Wildlife Diversity Biologist and Technician will be on barrier island beaches, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, marsh islands, dredged­ material islands, and oyster shell rakes. These sites extend from the South Carolina to Virginia borders with North Carolina, along the coast and in the sounds; hence, there will be much driving and frequent long days. When isolated locations along the Outer Banks are surveyed, an overnight stay will be required.