Orange County NC Website
RB5B21 533 2119 <br /> C. To the extent practicable, the Grantors and Grantee wish to maintain the <br /> Easement Area as a combination of woodland and open space suitable as habitat for the native <br /> flora and fauna of the North Carolina Piedmont, and to protect the quality of water running off <br /> from this land and into Haley Creek, a tributary of the Eno River,which river has both <br /> conservation value and is a public water supply for residents of Orange County. The grant of <br /> this Conservation Easement further said wish, and will serve the following"Conservation <br /> Purposes,"as such term is defined in Section 170 (h)(4)(A)of the Code: <br /> The Easement Area contains a natural area that has not been subject to significant <br /> development, which provides a"...relatively natural habitat of fish,wildlife, or plants, or similar <br /> ecosystem,"as that phrase is used in P.L. 96-541, 26 UCS 170(h)(A)(ii), as amended, and in <br /> regulations promulgated thereunder. <br /> Specifically,,ihe Easement Area is habitat for a variety of native plants and animals <br /> known to inhabit the Upper Eno River Macrosite as described on Pages 78-82 of the Inventory of <br /> the Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitats of Orange County, North Carolina (2004), by the North <br /> Carolina Natural Heritage Program. <br /> The Easement Area also is within a zone designated by Orange County as a"critical <br /> area"of the Upper Eno Watershed—a protected water supply watershed for the Corporation <br /> Lake and Lake Ben Johnson reservoirs. Another primary purpose of this Easement is to protect <br /> the undeveloped nature of the Grantors' Easement Area and,in doing so, helping to protect the <br /> high quality of that drinking water supply serving people in Hillsborough and Orange County. <br /> The Easement Area also contributes to the open space and rural character of northern <br /> Cheeks Township and the Upper Eno Protected Watershed, so classified in the Orange County <br /> Unified Development Ordinance. It is a further purpose of this Easement to help to protect the <br /> rural character and open space of northern Cheeks Township. <br /> The natural habitat of the Easement Area, and its contribution to the protection of the <br /> public water supply watershed, as well as the open space and rural character of Cheeks Township <br /> are collectively referred to as the "conservation values" of the Easement Area <br /> The Grantors and Grantee agree that the current uses of and improvements to the <br /> Easement Area are consistent with the conservation purposes of this Conservation Easement. <br /> The conservation purposes of this easement, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained <br /> herein, are also recognized by, and this Conservation Easement will also serve, the following <br /> clearly delineated governmental conservation policies: <br /> (1)the Orange County Board of Commissioners' goal (adopted June 21, 1999)to <br /> identify and coordinate the preservation of the County's most significant natural areas; and <br /> Page 2 of 15 <br />