North Carolina Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program Project
The Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program responds to the threat feral swine pose to American agriculture, landscapes and human and livestock health.
Project Area
North Carolina is one of the nation’s top three states for domestic pork production and experiences the highest measured threat from feral swine among America’s top five pork producing states. This project area encompasses 17 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, focusing on feral swine source populations in central and southern portions of the State.
The partner portion of the project focuses on Zones 2 and 3 while APHIS will focus on Zone 1 to implement collaborative and complementary management plans that work in concert to avoid duplication of effort, maximize elimination of feral swine source populations across contiguous zones, and efficiently reduce feral swine impacts in central and eastern North Carolina. This approach reduces the risk of feral swine resurgence and limits the introduction and spread of major disease threats entering from outside the State.
This seventeen-county area includes a variety of cultivated crops including vegetables, soybeans and tobacco production. An average of 29% of each counties’ total area under focus of this proposal is agricultural land, with an average of 14% of the acreage in crop production. Overall, these seventeen counties account for significant overall cash receipts from agriculture and livestock production and feral swine represent a significant contiguous threat to the State’s highest producing regions.
Geographically, the project area spans portions of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain physiographic regions. The land is mostly level to gently sloping with some side slopes along the dissected, shallow stream valleys. The area is made up of sedimentary soils. The project area intersects 3 major river basins including the Yadkin-Pee Dee, Cape Fear, and Lumber, which increases the potential for landscape scale movement of feral swine and associated disease risk. The project area also includes public and private land holdings (80-85%) many of which support the project and have already granted property access permission.
Map(s)
Anticipated Partner Activities
The selected partner, in consultation and collaboration with all project collaborators, will purchase and manage equipment, serve as the primary entity responsible for field implementation and execution of this proposal and project activities, coordinate data collection in collaboration with all project partners, and lead the development of jointly-produced peer-reviewed manuscripts, professional presentations, and all extension or educational materials.
A portion of the grant funding will be used to continue to support ongoing trapping efforts and equipment in the form of trap camera subscriptions, bait for traps, batteries for traps and mileage for staff to assist with trapping efforts. All collaborators will participate in public events and production/distribution of educational materials, as well as field and strategic technical consultation and project monitoring and evaluation.
APHIS will be considered the subject matter experts for implementing feral swine removal and damage reduction activities. Partners will need to collaborate with APHIS personnel when removal activities are requested by participating landowners. All projects will be a collaborative and coordinated effort between the selected partner, NRCS, and APHIS. It is required that APHIS maintains operational control of feral swine management activities.
Monitoring/Evaluation Requirements of Partner
Monitoring and evaluation will be conducted by the partner. Our goal will be to achieve and demonstrate a reduction in feral swine populations, reduction in disease threat and damage within the project area and take steps to provide strategy and implementation for natural resource and landscape recovery. Partnerships with other NGOs, agencies, land trusts, private landowners, educational programs, and other interested groups will be encouraged.
Partners are required to collect standardized information for trapping operations in accordance with APHIS procedures. Examples of data collected include trap location, number of pigs trapped, location of nearby resources, etc.
Training Expectations
Education will be essential aspects of the project to ensure landowners are educated on the need for removing feral swine, approved techniques, and methods for controlling feral swine populations. Partners are expected to assist with training and educational activities.