Over the past two decades, North Carolina has been one of the most rapidly growing states in the nation with the bulk of the population increase occurring in and around Piedmont urban centers. With proper planning, new development can be guided in a manner that minimizes negative impacts on the natural and cultural heritage of the region. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), with the help of State Wildlife Grant funds, initiated the Urban Wildlife Project in 2005 to promote cross-jurisdictional planned growth and the preservation of biologically significant, linked open space in the Triangle Region (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill).

The Urban Wildlife Biologist reviews existing town and county Land Use Plans, Land Use Ordinances, Park & Greenway Plans, and Subdivision Proposals, and then acts as a liaison to planners giving them technical guidance on ways to steer growth away from sensitive wildlife habitats while encouraging infill and conservation-based development elsewhere.  In the future, developers and private landowners will be contacted for inclusion in this working partnership for conservation.

The Urban Wildlife Project recognizes that contact with nature positively affects the quality of life of the citizens in the Triangle Region and therefore seeks to help local governments more easily provide that contact. By exposing people to wildlife and natural places, a better understanding of and respect for the environment is fostered. Additionally, the Project helps the NCWRC better understand and provide for the needs of its non-traditional constituents such as birdwatchers, wildlife viewers, and those that simply enjoy a walk in the woods.