Agenda - 02-09-2006-6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS RESOLUTION HONORING ALLEN AND EVELYN LLOYD For Their Protection of Occoneechee Mountain WHEREAS, Occoneechee Mountain is one of the most important landmarks in Orange County - with its summit rising 350 feet above Hillsborough and the Eno River, the 867 -foot summit is the highest point in the Triangle Region; and WHEREAS, Occoneechee Mountain has long been respected and enjoyed by generations of Native Americans and more recent settlers and residents of Orange County; and WHEREAS, Occoneechee Mountain's unusual assemblage of plants and animals makes it one of the most important natural areas in the Triangle Region; and WHEREAS, despite the proximity of a burgeoning population, a railroad, and an interstate highway, most of Occoneechee Mountain has remained wild and undeveloped over the 250 - year history of Orange County; and WHEREAS, protection of Occoneechee Mountain began over 40 years ago through the far- sighted efforts of Allen and Pauline Lloyd who, in the early 1960s, purchased 66 acres located adjacent the Eno River and the mountain summit; and WHEREAS, the Lloyd's actions led to the donation of 28 acres on Occoneechee Mountain by Cone Mills to the Town of Hillsborough, the donation of 14 acres by Elizabeth Matheson to the Eno River Association, and the sale of 96 acres to the State of North Carolina; and WHEREAS, in 1999, the State of North Carolina, with assistance from The Nature Conservancy and the Eno River Association, established the Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area for the long -term protection and public use of the site; and WHEREAS, for over 40 years the Lloyds owned and protected one of more ecologically significant sections of the mountain, including the fabled Panther's Den, and over that period, the Lloyds resisted many offers to sell their land so that it would remain undeveloped; and WHEREAS, this past December, Allen and Evelyn Lloyd sold their 66 acres to the Eno River Association so that it would become permanently protected as part of the Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of Commissioners does hereby thank Allen Lloyd for his foresight and early leadership in the protection Occoneechee Mountain, without which it is highly uncertain whether there would be an Occoneechee Mountain natural area. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board recognizes and thanks Allen and Evelyn Lloyd for the recent sale of their 66 acres to the Eno River Association for its eventual conveyance to the State of North Carolina for an addition to Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area.