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issues have already been addressed by the Board in the June 22 action <br />to establish the department. <br />1. Working With Other Agencies Involved in Conservation <br />A number of comments from the public hearing noted that there are <br />existing agencies working on resource conservation issues. Many <br />persons asked that careful attention be paid to working in conjunction <br />with these groups. In particular, the work of the Triangle Land <br />Conservancy, area landowners and the role for the Orange Soil and <br />Water District in resource conservation was mentioned. All of these <br />organizations have an important role in resource conservation, <br />although they sometimes have differing interests and needs. <br />The Triangle Land Conservancy and other local organizations have <br />clearly accomplished positive first steps in resource conservation in <br />Orange County. However, it is worth noting that the new ERCD would <br />provide opportunities for activities and coordination that do not <br />currently exist. There are several areas where the new department <br />would perform new activities, or coordinate activities that have <br />previously been handled piecemeal or in disparate fashion: <br />• While many of the existing agencies perform important roles and <br />are valuable components of the resource conservation picture, there <br />are often different specialized areas of emphasis and interest <br />among conservation organizations that may not coincide with the <br />goals and interests of the County. <br />• The program for identification and prioritized acquisition of critical <br />natural and cultural resources would be a new task not currently <br />performed. <br />• There is currently no coordinated function in the County to pursue <br />and develop grant proposals for funding of resource acquisition - <br />whether this be acquisition of a wetlands habitat or a future park <br />site. <br />• There is no central location for coordination of the data on the <br />different types of resources in the County, and no one agency <br />charged with maintenance and upkeep of the different databases. <br />The new department would offer a coordinated means of <br />maintaining and building new databases of previously disparate or <br />incomplete information, linking areas previously not coordinated, <br />such as data on water resources, air quality and recreation sites. <br />• The new department will offer staff resources for new groups such <br />as the Commission for the Environment and Master Parks and <br />4 <br />e <br />