Orange County NC Website
land and into the Eno River, which river has both conservation value and is a public water supply <br />for residents of Orange County. <br />The grant of this Conservation Easement will further said wish, and will serve the <br />following "Conservation Purposes," as such term~is defined in Section 170 (h)(4)(A) of the <br />Code: <br />The Easement Area contains a natural area that has not been subject to significant <br />development, which provides a "...relatively natural habitat of fish, wildlife, or plants, or similar <br />ecosystem," as that phrase is used in P.L. 96-541, 26 UCS 170(h)(A)(ii), as amended, and in <br />regulations promulgated thereunder. Specifically, the Easement Area is habitat for a variety of <br />native plants and animals known to inhabit the Upper Eno River Macrosite as described on Pages <br />78-82 of the Inventory of the Natural Areas and wildlife Habitats of Orange County, North <br />Carolina (2004), by the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program. <br />The Easement Area also includes land within a zone designated by Orange County as a <br />"critical area" of a protected water supply watershed for the Corporation Lake Reservoir and <br />Lake Ben Johnson Reservoir. Another primary purpose of this Easement is to protect the largely <br />undeveloped nature of the Grantor's Property and, in doing so, helping to protect the high quality <br />of that drinking water supply serving the people of Orange County. <br />The Easement Area also contributes to the open space and rural character of Cedar Grove <br />Township and northern Cheeks Township and the Upper Eno Protected Watershed, so classified <br />in the Orange County Zoning Ordinance. It is a further purpose of this Easement to help to <br />protect the rural character and open space of Cedar Grove Township and northern Cheeks <br />Township. <br />The natural and wildlife habitat resources of the Property, and its contribution to the <br />protection of the area water supply and rural character, and the other conservation interests <br />described herein are collectively referred to as the "Conservation Values" of the Easement Area. <br />Grantor and Grantee agree that the current uses of and improvements to the Easement <br />Area are consistent with the conservation purposes of this Conservation Easement. The <br />conservation purposes of this easement, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained <br />herein, are also recognized by, and this Conservation Easement will also serve, the following <br />clearly delineated governmental conservation policies: <br />(1) the Orange County Board of Commissioners' goal (adopted June 21, 1999) to <br />identify and coordinate the preservation of the County's most significant natural areas; and <br />(2) the Land Use Element of the Orange County Comprehensive Plan (adopted <br />September 2, 1981 as amended) with its goal of conserving and protecting Orange County's <br />significant "Resource Protection Areas" from adverse development impacts, including county <br />natural areas, wildlife corridors and lands placed by individual property owners into conservation <br />easements; and <br />~~ <br />i <br />1 <br />i <br />Page 2 of 20 <br />