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0 <br />5) Does the Board agree with focusing initial efForts in the vicinity of the <br />County's Seven Mile Creek Preserve? <br />If the Board sees the MST as a priority, staff feels that the Seven Mile Creek <br />Preserve may be a fitting place to start. Focusing initial attention on the MST <br />segment in the Seven Mile Creek portion of the Upper Eno Watershed is suggested <br />for several reasons: <br />a) The County already owns nearly 300 acres for the Seven Mile Creek Preserve, <br />and the planned MST corridor would travel through that property. <br />b) ERCD is in contact with four landowners who are interested in selling or <br />donating land for the Preserve. Three are key properties adjacent to County- <br />owned land, and one of these priorities has been negotiated and is planned for <br />the October 20 Board agenda. <br />c) State funds for land acquisition are likely to be earmarked for Orange County <br />once the state budget situation improves. State Parks staff has indicated a <br />preference for the Seven Mile Creek area because the County has already <br />acquired land in that area and is within reach of other public lands. <br />d) As noted in the budget service reduction materials from last spring, while a lull in <br />park master planning is anticipated during 2009-10, staff did anticipate the need <br />to begin at least internal efforts toward developing a master plan for Seven Mile <br />Creek Preserve, which would identify recommended future boundaries, access <br />points, recreation sites, natural and historical points of interest, and the future <br />MST corridor. <br />Finally, as has been noted in previous Lands Legacy Action Plans, the Seven Mile <br />Creek Preserve, when viewed in the larger context of preservation in the Neuse <br />(Falls Lake) basin, offers an opportunity as a gateway for linking conservation areas <br />to the north, potentially expanding the formal conservation of land northward along <br />the Eno River to include several existing permanent conservation "nodes." <br />ERCD staff will be available to answer questions and to provide additional information about <br />these issues at the October 13 work session. <br />4 <br />