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From: Greg Feller [GFeller@owasa.org] <br />Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 3:46 PM <br />To: undisclosed-recipients <br />Subject: OWASA news release: Citizens invited to community meeting Nov. 30th on proposed sustainable <br />forestry management plan <br />Orange Water and Sewer Authority <br />A public, non profit agency providing water, sewer and reclaimed water services <br />to the Carrboro-Chapel Hill community. <br />NEWS RELEASE November 19, 2010 <br />OWASA INVITES CITIZENS TO COMMENT ON PLAN <br />TO SUSTAINABLY MANAGE FOREST LANDS <br />OWASA invites all interested citizens to participate in a Community Meeting on November 30th <br />to discuss a proposed plan for sustainable management of OWASA's forest lands. <br />The Community Meeting will be held at 7 PM in the Maple View Agricultural Center at 3501 <br />Dairyland Road in southwestern Orange County. (Please see the map and directions at the <br />end of this news release.) Customers are also invited to send comments and questions to <br />OWASA by letter, e-mail or fax by December 2nd. (Please see additional contact information <br />below.) <br />The objectives of OWASA's forestry stewardship plan are to protect drinking water quality and <br />watershed health by improving the health and diversity of OWASA's forest lands, while <br />improving the quality and diversity of wildlife habitat. <br />The draft plan covers about 1,900 acres on 17 OWASA properties with forest land. All but one <br />parcel are in southwest Orange County; one is in Chatham County just west of Jordan Lake. <br />About 500 acres are proposed to be left undisturbed as forested stream buffers. The draft plan <br />proposes thinning of low quality trees to improve forest health in upland hardwood areas and <br />dense forest stands, and clear-cutting and reforestation of certain pine forest stands. The <br />proposed forest stewardship plan is on OWASA's website at <br />http://www.owasa.org/whatwedo/ForestManagementPlan.aspx. <br />Representatives from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) and the NC Division of <br />Forest Resou,:.es (DFR) will also participate and help answer questions. OWASA retained <br />True North Forest Management Services to help draft the plan, working closely with the NC <br />DFR and NC WRC, and other stakeholders <br />After considering any comments and concerns, at a later date the OWASA Board may finalize <br />the forest stewardship plan and authorize OWASA staff to implement the plan. <br />12/8/2010 <br />