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69 <br /> dropping 85% from 557 acres in 1982 to only 82 acres in 1987. <br /> Land enrolled in the program as managed forest increased <br /> slightly, from 318 acres to 412 acres during the same time. <br /> Of the 494 acres in the program in 1987, two-thirds had <br /> converted from agricultural to managed forest during the <br /> preceding five years. The criteria for a managed forest <br /> designation are less stringent than for an agricultural <br /> designation and require less intensive use of the land. In <br /> some instances, the transition of land from the more <br /> intensive agricultural use to the less intensive managed <br /> forest use may portend future development of the property. <br /> Natural Environmental Constraints <br /> Chapel Hill Township north of the Joint Planning Area <br /> contains the following environmental constraints to <br /> development activity; , f loodplains, steep slopes, and poor <br /> soils. <br /> Floodplains: Virtually all of the area's 100-year floodplain <br /> acreage lies along Stoney Creek and its tributaries. The <br /> stream flows through a relatively narrow valley so the extent <br /> of flooding during 100-year floods is not great. The <br /> floodplain rarely extends further than three hundred feet <br /> from the center of the stream and covers only sixty-seven <br /> acres, less than 2% of the area. Poorly drained soils <br /> associated with floodplains cover an additional 129 acres or <br /> another 3% of the region's land area. <br /> Steen Slopes: Steep slopes present a constraint to <br /> development by creating the potential for increased runoff <br /> and erosion. Steep slopes and the soils associated with them <br /> also pose problems in the use of septic tanks. Steep slopes <br /> in the portion of Chapel Hill Township north of the JPA are <br /> fairly extensive, encompassing some 787 acres or almost 19% <br /> of the total land area. Most of the steep slopes are confined <br /> to the Couch Mountain tract of Duke Forest and the stream <br /> valleys of Stoney Creek and its tributaries. <br /> Soils: Two soil associations predominate in the area; <br /> Appling-Helena to the east and Georgeville-Herndon-Tatum to <br /> the west. The soils of the latter association tend to be <br /> well-drained and are suitable for most land uses. Appling- <br /> Helena soils, however, are somewhat more clayey, posing <br /> problems for septic tank absorption fields and many building <br /> types because of poor absorption and shrink-swell problems. <br /> 3 <br />