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 Biologists have developed a possible solution to help the Carolina northern flying squirrel cross the highway.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission biologist Chris Kelly, working together with the U.S. Forest Service, N.C. Department of Transportation, Duke Energy and Western Carolina University, have erected structures to serve as artificial trees to help flying squirrels glide across the Cherohala Skyway in the Unicoi Mountains, a mountain range along the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. The width of the road corridor exceeds the gliding ability of the flying squirrel and effectively divides their habitat and population. Reductions in accessible habitat and dispersal are the greatest threats in the Unicoi to this endangered species, which doesn’t actually fly, but glides. And, because the trees along the road shoulder are not mature enough to serve as natural launch pads for the squirrels to glide across the road, biologists have erected poles to assist in a safe crossing. “We’ve used radio-transmitters to study some of the squirrels, and we know they are not getting across the road,” Kelly said. “If they use these poles, they’ll be able to get to the other side, reconnecting habitat and animals on both sides of the Skyway.” The northern flying squirrel, as opposed to the more common southern flying squirrel, has been on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list since 1985. The Unicoi Mountains have one of the most threatened populations of the 12-inch mammal. Completed in 1996, the 36-mile Cherohala Skyway has widely cleared shoulders lined with briars and bedrock. Because the road is so new, the trees along the edges have not grown tall enough for the squirrels to use to glide across the highway. “Flying squirrels spend a lot of time on the ground foraging at night,” said Kelly. “But when they want to move quickly from point A to point B, they glide.” The flying squirrel’s gliding membrane, called a patagium, may prevent them from efficiently running through briars and across the pavement to the lush habitat on the other side, which is rife with the fungi and lichens that the animals eat. Using radio-transmitters, Commission biologists will monitor the flying squirrels closely to see if they use the structures. Duke Energy donated the poles, as well as its Robbinsville crew and equipment for a day to install them. “We’re very concerned about the environment in the Carolinas and wherever we serve,” said Kenny Street, of the Duke Energy Robbinsville crew. “This is all a part of our helping the environment and the community.” Utility poles were successfully used in a similar situation for a gliding marsupial in Australia. (Images provided by NC Wildlife.)
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