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25 <br />plant and animal species, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), and <br />the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) list of threatened and endangered species for Orange <br />County were consulted. Appendix A contains a list of threatened, endangered and rare species <br />known in Orange County. <br />3.2. Field Investigation <br />Catena conducted the field survey on March 11, 2015, under warm and partly sunny conditions. <br />Floral (plant) communities, rare species habitat, and significant fauna (wildlife) observations <br />were identified and notable features were surveyed using a hand -held GPS unit (sub -meter <br />accuracy). <br />3.2.1. Floral Communities <br />Plant surveys were conducted during the field investigation. Natural communities follow those <br />described by Michael Schafale in the Guide to the Natural Communities 6f North Carolina, <br />Fourth Approximation (2012). A natural community is defined as, "A distinct and reoccurring <br />assemblage of populations of plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi naturally associated with each <br />other and their physical environment." ( Schafale 2012). Plant community types significantly <br />altered by human disturbance typically do not fall into a natural classification, and are thus <br />categorized in general terms (i.e. shrub /scrub, maintained /disturbed, etc.). Specimen trees or <br />other significant floral features encountered were noted and mapped. <br />3.2.2. Faunal Communities <br />Visual faunal surveys were conducted during the field investigation. This cursory effort <br />identified the presence of habitats suitable for protected and rare species, and also included field <br />identification of species encountered (visual observation of species, scat and /or tracks) to the <br />highest taxonomic level as practicable in the allocated timeframe. Sampling results (faunal <br />community) will be considered representative of the community /habitat type sampled. Important <br />faunal locations as observed during the field investigation were noted and mapped. <br />4.0 RESULTS <br />This section describes species composition and relative proportions of both natural and disturbed <br />vegetative communities within the project area. Dominant species within each community are <br />noted with a "D ". Faunal species typical of the plant community are provided and species <br />observed during the field investigation are noted with an " * ". Plant community mapping is <br />displayed on Figure 2. Scientific names are included in Appendix B. Photographs are included <br />in Appendix C. <br />EWS Biological Inventory March 2015 <br />Catena Job# 6210 Page 2 <br />