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Pickard Mountain and goes south into University Lake and then travels to the east through lands <br />protected by the University and the Botanical Garden and an into Jordan Lake. The ERCD staff <br />participated in initial meetings of this group and felt that this would go nicely with the work the County <br />does as part of the Lands Legacy program. The proposed resolution declares Orange County's support <br />of the newly formed partnership. He read the resolution. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Gordon, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis to <br />approve and authorize the Chair to sign the resolution in support of Morgan Creek Valley Alliance as <br />stated below: <br />A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE MORGAN CREEK VALLEY ALLIANCE <br />WHEREAS, the Orange County Board of Commissioners has established protecting the County's major <br />watercourses and water supply watersheds as a high priority, and <br />WHEREAS, the Morgan Creek valley forms the University Lake watershed, as it courses through <br />southern Orange County, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and eventually into Jordan Lake, and <br />WHEREAS, the Morgan Creek Valley includes scenic, cultural, recreational, water supply and wildlife <br />resources including rare and valuable micro ecosystems, and <br />WHEREAS, the County owns land along tributaries of Morgan Creek, and has planning and zoning <br />authority over a significant portion of its valley, and <br />WHEREAS, the County has already taken significant steps over the years to protect the important and <br />sensitive ecology of Morgan Creek through planning and the implementation of watershed protection <br />standards that exceed State minimum rules, and <br />WHEREAS, the newly formed Morgan Creek Valley Alliance seeks to conserve the natural and cultural <br />heritage and ecological integrity of the region and to protect the water quality of the Morgan Creek Valley <br />through increasing public awareness, cooperation and broad participation, and <br />WHEREAS, the Alliance is a voluntary cooperative effort which in its initial stages has included broad <br />participation from property owners along the creek, the N.C. Botanical Garden (through which it flows}, <br />the Chapel Hill Museum, the Towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill, Orange County, OWASA, UNC-Chapel <br />Hill, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Triangle Land Conservancy, and others: <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners hereby <br />welcomes the establishment and supports the mission of the Morgan Creek Valley Alliance to conserve <br />Morgan Creek through public education, cooperation and coordination of public and private parties, and <br />voluntary conservation efforts to protect the natural and cultural heritage and to protect the water quality. <br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners encourages the Alliance <br />to pursue its broad based strategy with maximum involvement of the public in the interest of protecting <br />one of our most valuable resources. <br />This, the 5t" day of February 2002. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />Commissioner Brown mentioned a teacher at Culbreth Middle School that has been doing <br />stream monitoring with her classes on Morgan Creek for many years. She asked if this teacher was part <br />of this. Rich Shaw said that she has not attended any of the initial meetings, but she is interested in <br />being involved. <br />