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1 <br /> ORANGECOUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: October 21, 1997 <br /> Agenda Abstract <br /> Item# i I-b <br /> SUBJECT: WILDLIFE HABITAT STUDY-TRIANGLE LAND CONSERVANCY <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning PUBLIC HEARING: Yes X No <br /> BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUIRED: Yes X No <br /> ATTACHMENTS: INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Don Belk, Preservation Planner/X2594 <br /> (1)Goal Statement-Natural Resource Preservation Beth McFarland, GIS Project <br /> (2)A Landscape with Wildlife for Orange County, Coordinator/X2578 <br /> report by Triangle Land Conservancy <br /> PHONE NUMBERS: <br /> Hillsborough 732-8181 <br /> Mebane 227-2031 <br /> Durham 688-7331 <br /> Chapel Hill 967-9251 <br /> PURPOSE: To hear a presentation and receive a report from the Triangle Land Conservancy <br /> on wildlife habitats in Orange County. <br /> BACKGROUND: The Board of Commissioners appropriated $10,000 as part of the FY 1995-96 <br /> budget to fund a Wildlife Habitat Study to be carried out by the Triangle Land <br /> Conservancy(see attached "Natural Resource Preservation" goal statement). <br /> The Wildlife Habitat Study was conducted by Steve Hall, a biologist with the NC <br /> Natural Heritage Program, Haven Wiley, Professor of Biology at UNC-Chapel <br /> Hill, and Live+ Ludington of the Triangle Land Conservancy. The Information <br /> Services Division provided GIS support. <br /> The Habitat Study is a follow-up phase of the 1988 Inventory of the Natural Areas <br /> and Wildlife Habitats of Orange County. The project includes mapping of the <br /> forested areas of the County to determine the extent of different forest types. <br /> Using the most recent complete aerial photography of county (1988), the <br /> researchers identified all areas in Orange County with predominantly hardwood <br /> forests, mixed forests, and pine forests. Forests greater than 40 acres in size <br /> were further divided into those that were largely undisturbed by human activities, <br /> those slightly disturbed, and those forests that have been significantly disturbed. <br /> Undisturbed and slightly disturbed forested areas greater than 40 acres in size are <br /> considered "prime forests" -the most important habitat for native Orange County <br /> wildlife. In 1988, these areas covered nearly 90,000 acres. <br />