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5 <br />open space such as Duke Forest, and future County parks and open space. <br />Linking future rural parks and open space to Town parks via a few unpaved trails <br />could greatly expand low-impact recreational opportunities. The identification of <br />strategic corridors that might tie together these recreation facilities is suggested <br />as a practical- long-term goal. Using criteria and a classification scheme, the <br />potential for a select few woodland trails as part of a Countywide (and <br />eventually) regional corridor scheme is noted. Three examples of such trail links <br />are offered (two within the Towns or Rural Buffer, one in the rural areas linking <br />Cane Creek and Eno River State Park) are offered. <br />4. Coordinated Land Acquisition for Parks <br />The 1996 and 1997 reports point to the need for coordinated capital funding, <br />and this is one of the goals of this project. In discussing parks needs and goals, <br />the Work Group placed a strong emphasis on the need to begin land acquisition <br />for long-term park needs now. <br />Orange County has taken steps in 1999 to create a mechanism that could be <br />used in this fashion. The new Department of Environment and Resource <br />Conservation began operation on January 4, with a primary focus on <br />acquisition/easements of critical land resources. A Land Acquisition Program for <br />Orange County is currently being developed for discussion in the fall of 1999: <br />This program will develop and/or use inventories, criteria and a management <br />structure for the acquisition and stewardship of land resources deemed critical to <br />the public interest, working with other existing land trusts and entities. The <br />program will involve the preservation of natural areas and wildlife habitat, <br />farmland, riparian buffers, and the acquisition of lands for long-term parks use. <br />The County is hiring a Land Resources Conservation Manager, with expertise in <br />site evaluation and land acquisition this summer. This position will coordinate <br />land acquisition efforts, and would use the criteria developed in the Master <br />Recreation and Parks effort to evaluate land purchases for parks (please see the <br />Recommendations section for additional details). The outline of the Land <br />Resource Acquisition Program may be found in the report on page 26. <br />Funding for long-term parkland acquisition would likely involve local bonds and <br />allocations, and grants from programs such as the state Parks and Recreation <br />Trust Fund. Information on this program is provided on pages 27-28. <br />S. Payment-in-Lieu Programs <br />All of the jurisdictions in the County have provisions in their development <br />ordinances addressing dedication or provision of recreation facilities. Carrboro <br />and Orange County also have payment-in-lieu of dedication programs, which <br />allows for the payment of a fee based on the number of lots in lieu of providing <br />recreation facilities. Orange County has special legislation that would allow for <br />