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35 <br />Ho/ %w Rock Area /New Hope Creek Opportunities and Constraints <br />V. Property Description <br />Land Cover <br />The property is almost entirely forested with mature loblolly pine and mixed -aged <br />hardwoods. There is one small open area (+ 2 acres) that straddles the boundary <br />between the Triangle Land Conservancy and Orange County landholdings. That <br />location has been maintained as a home site and small field for over 80 years. <br />The forested area includes three stands of mature loblolly pine —one adjacent to Erwin <br />Road, west of Pickett Road (+ 6 acres); one adjacent to the Penny property, west of <br />Pickett Road (+ 2 ac.); and one along the southern boundary of the Duke tract, east of <br />Pickett Road (+ 5 acres). The pines average from 15 to 18 inches in diameter (dbh). <br />Most of the forest is comprised of fairly mature hardwoods typical of the Piedmont <br />alluvial and bottomland forest. The more upland portion of the site (east of Pickett <br />Road) is comprised of a variety of tree species such oak, hickory, sweetgum, maple and <br />mature pine. Numerous hardwoods are over 18 inches in diameter (dbh). <br />The lower -lying areas (west of Pickett Road) include river birch, sycamore, box elder, <br />Shumard oak, shagbark hickory, tulip tree, and sweet gum. The soils are fairly rich in <br />this area, as indicated by the abundance of sugarberry, Florida maple, ash, slippery <br />elm, eastern hop - hornbeam, painted buckeye, and pawpaw. There are small areas with <br />invasive exotic plants (e.g., Chinese privet, multiflora rose, and Japanese stilt grass), <br />but much less than is found on the conservation lands located downstream. The <br />excellent condition of the riparian forest, and its connection to other conservation lands <br />upstream and downstream, enables this property to serve as excellent habitat for <br />wildlife, including white - tailed deer, bobcat, northern river otter, wild turkey, barred <br />owl, red - shouldered hawk and a large variety of other birds. <br />Topography and Hvdrology <br />The land slopes generally from the northeast (310 feet elev.) down to New Hope Creek <br />(265 feet) in the far southwest of the property. The New Hope Creek corridor includes a <br />narrow fringe of bottomland within the 100 -year floodplain. That bottomland (and <br />floodplain) extends to the northeast into the site along an unnamed tributary stream, <br />almost to where the stream flows under Pickett Road. A topographic map is provided <br />as Figure E. <br />The unnamed New Hope tributary flows through the middle of the property in a <br />southwesterly direction. The property slopes from both sides to the tributary. Two or <br />three wet weather (ephemeral) streams drain the northeast portion of the site, carrying <br />rainwater to the tributary and eventually to New Hope Creek. <br />The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program recently designated this section of New <br />Hope Creek as having aquatic habitat of state significance, due to the presence of rare <br />and endangered species of fish, crayfish, snails and mussels. A biologist field report for <br />the natural area is provided as Appendix 3. <br />Page 4 of 8 <br />