Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
1 <br /> ORANGECOUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: December 16, 1997 <br /> Agenda Abstract <br /> Item# _ C <br /> SUBJECT: PLANNING FOR WILDLIFE HABITAT PROTECTION <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 <br /> (2)A Landscape with Wildlife for Orange County, PHONE NUMBERS: <br /> report by Triangle Land Conservancy' Hillsborough 732-8181 <br /> Mebane 227-2031 <br /> 'Please refer to your copy of the report Durham 688-7331 <br /> distributed on October 21 Chapel Hill 967-9251 <br /> PURPOSE: To hear a report from the Planning Department staff on various methods and <br /> techniques to protect wildlife habitat. This report was requested from the Board <br /> of Commissioners as a follow-up to a presentation by Triangle Land Conservancy <br /> on wildlife habitats in Orange County. <br /> BACKGROUND: In September, 1995, the Board of Commissioners appropriated $10,000 to fund a <br /> Wildlife Habitat Study to be conducted by the Triangle Land Conservancy <br /> (TLC). The study was completed by Steve Hall, a biologist with the NC Natural <br /> Heritage Program, Haven Wiley, Professor of Biology at UNC-Chapel Hill, and <br /> Livy Ludington of TLC. The Information Services Division provided GIS <br /> support. <br /> The report, entitled A Landscape with Wildlife for Orange County, was presented <br /> to the Board of Commissioners on October 21, 1997. <br /> A Landscape with Wildlife is a follow-up report to the 1988 Inventory of the <br /> Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitats of Orange County. The report includes maps <br /> showing those areas greater than 40 acres in size and categorized as `undisturbed' <br /> or `slightly disturbed' forested areas. These are considered "prime forests" - the <br /> most important habitat for native Orange County wildlife (see report, Map 1). In <br /> 1988, these areas covered nearly 90,000 acres. It is estimated that at least 10% of <br /> the prime forests have been lost or reduced in size during the past nine years. <br /> The remaining prime forests, together with the significant natural areas identified <br /> in the Inventory of Natural Areas, constitute Core Areas for wildlife habitat(see <br />