Minutes - 20091013 Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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the Outer Banks on the Atlantic coast. In 2000 the NC General Assembly authorized the MST as part of the North Carolina Parks System (Attachment 2). More than 500 miles of the MST has been constructed thus far, and with temporary connectors on back roads and bike trails, people can already hike across the entire state. Most of the existing MST is in western and eastern NC, constructed largely by volunteers on federally- owned lands in cooperation with state and local governments. Developing the trail through the more populated Piedmont section of the state, however, will require special consideration, more-complicated planning, and a boost of state funds. From 2005-2007 the Division of State Parks (NC DENR) held stakeholder meetings to identify a preferred route through Alamance, Orange and Durham counties. Orange County staff (ERCD, Parks & Recreation, and Planning) participated in those meetings along with land trusts and other groups from across the Piedmont. The preferred trail route through the "Eastern Piedmont" was identified by State Parks in 2007 as a result of those stakeholder meetings (Attachment 3). In Orange County the planned MST corridor starts at the Haw River in the far southeast corner, follows Cane Creek northeast through the OWASA Reservoir lands, and cuts overland through the Seven Mile Creek Preserve to Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area. From Occoneechee Mountain the trail follows the Eno River along Hillsborough's Riverwalk and through Eno River State Park into Durham County (Attachment 4). The adjoining counties (Alamance and Durham) have already endorsed the State's planned MST trail corridor and are working with the State Trails Program, Friends of the Mountains-to- Sea Trail, and other partners to acquire land (and trail easements) and construct the trail. Alamance County is constructing two miles of trail per year. Durham County is working with Wake County and others to complete 46 miles of trail around Falls Lake. The Town of Hillsborough has also endorsed the MST route through its jurisdiction. While Orange County has discussed the trail corridor on a number of occasions, the County has not yet endorsed the State's planned MST trail route. The Orange County segment of the trail is one of the more complex links in the system. It includes one of the few stretches of trail that must cross overland from one major river basin to another without the benefit of natural features and publicly-owned land. Staff has identified the following decision points for Board discussion and feedback: 1) Is the Board ready to endorse the general alignment of the planned MST corridor through Orange County? (If so, staff would suggest several steps to validate this action in existing plans and programs.) 2) How should the County coordinate with OWASA on the MST trail alignment? 3) Can Staff collaborate with the Town of Hillsborough to identify the MST trail linkages to both ends of the Town's Riverwalk? 4) How aggressively should ERCD prioritize MST land acquisition through the Lands Legacy program? 5) Does the Board agree with focusing initial efforts in the vicinity of the County's Seven Mile Creek Preserve?