Agenda - 08-19-1986 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• puke ?Ruh/et-sit DURHAM 0 9 E NORTH CAROLINA 27706 • SCHOOL OF FORESTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES. TELEPHONE(919)684-2421 OFFICE OF THE DUKE FOREST April 17, 1986 - Comments on Orange .County Land Use Plan Duke University, the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and I as manager of the Duke Forest, appreciate this opportunity to provide input and comments on the Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan. We compliment Orange County, Chapel Hill and Carrboro in their efforts to protect the natural resources in this planning area. - First, I would like to provide some background on the Duke Forest. Since 1931 , the lands known as the Duke Forest have provided continuous educational and research opportunities for the students and faculty of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Duke University. During that time, the Duke Forest has also developed as a natural outdoor laboratory for the Botany and Zoology Departments at Duke and the University of North Carolina, the U.S. Forest Service, EPA, North Carolina State University and other institutions. Current research projects funded on the Duke Forest amount to more than $1.1 million annually and total almost $5 million for projects ranging from a two-year duration to an indefinite time period. Duke University will maintain the Duke Forest in a condition to continue to provide research and educational resources. Through ongoing planning efforts at Duke University, all University lands are evaluated with respect to the mission and purpose of the University. ' Several important forest management criteria should be taken into consideration in the planning process. Teaching, research and demonstration require both undisturbed areas of vegetation and areas that are actively managed to provide a diversity of stand types and conditions. Increasing development around the Forest, greater traffic flow on roads beside it, and recreational pressures including foot traffic, horseback riding, and the intrusion of motorcycles and' 4-wheel drive vehicles make our management job increasingly complex. Not only is it difficult to protect sensitive areas, of vegetation and expensive scientific equipment, but there also may be adverse public reaction to management activities. These activities include timber harvesting, site preparation and prescribed burning, each of which is an integral part of the Forest's operation. We offer the following specific comments to the proposed plan: I. The Henry J. posting Natural Area at the intersection of N.C. 86 and Whitfield Road has been reserved for non-manipulative research since 1941 , was formally dedicated as a natural area by the Duke University Trustees in 1959, and was recognized by the Orange County Commissioners in a 1977 resolution. *In order to protect this area, development in the Activity Node at this intersection should be limited to south of Whitfield Road and west of 1-40. Other surrounding land should remain in the Rural Buffer designation. *The stream on the north side of the Natural Area must be protected from deterioration.