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INFORMATION ITEM <br />COUNTY OF ORANGE <br />DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, AGRICULTURE, <br />PARKS AND RECREATION <br />I <br />To: Board of County Commissioners <br />Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager <br />From: David Stancil, DEAPR Director <br />Rich Shaw, Land Conservation Manager <br />Date: August 25, 2014 <br />Subject: State of the Environment 2014 and Environmental Summit <br />The Orange County Commission for the Environment is nearing completion of its 2014 <br />Orange County State of the Environment report. The purpose of the report is to <br />describe the current status of Orange County's natural environment, identify trends, <br />highlight the major environmental challenges facing the County, and to recommend <br />actions to confront those challenges. <br />The State of the Environment is prepared by the Commission for the Environment and <br />DEAPR staff. The initial report was compiled in 2000 and has been updated every two <br />or four years since then (2002, 2004, and 2009). For this 2014 report we also received <br />help from Malcolm Munkittrick, a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill. <br />The State of the Environment report uses a template of around 22 measurable <br />"indicators" of the current status of air quality, water quality, and other environmental <br />conditions within Orange County. The indicators help reveal trends that can alert us to <br />potential impacts on human health and suggest areas where additional information, <br />research, and monitoring are needed. Finally, the report identifies critical issues and <br />makes recommendations for future County actions to help address certain issues. <br />The State of the Environment will be released in time for the Environmental Summit <br />to be held October 11 (9:30am —12 noon) at the Maple View Agricultural <br />Environmental Center. The summit will include a keynote presentation by Dr. Norm <br />Christensen (Duke University) and a panel of speakers with presentations on <br />environmental topics of interest to Orange County residents. <br />For more information on either the report of the summit, please contact Rich Shaw at <br />rshaw(aoranaecountvnc.aov or 919- 245 -2514. <br />Attachment <br />Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation <br />PO Box 8181 1306 -A Revere Road <br />Hillsborough, NC 27278 <br />(919) 245 -2510 <br />