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Support for Conservation Briefly describe the conservation interests or actions of your community and local governing or planning - related board. Within the project area, a remarkable amount of land has been conserved by local land trusts, local government programs, educational institutions (Duke and UNC), water supply utilities, and other entities. This success would not have been possible without the high level of community interest and political support for land and water conservation. Orange County's 2030 Comprehensive Plan (adopted 2008) calls for the development of a comprehensive conservation plan for achieving a network of protected open space that addresses 1) threats to important natural areas; 2) connectivity between protected areas; 3) coordination with neighboring counties; and 4) sustainable management of critical natural resources. Such a plan has already been developed for Chatham County. This PGG- funded project would expand that effort to include Durham and Orange counties and specifically the Jordan Lake watershed and inter -basin area between the Neuse and Cape Fear Rivers. Summary Project and Budget Narrative Describe your project below in 300 words or less. Include a brief description of the activities that will use PGG funds and what you would count as non - federal in -kind match. Please provide the approximate amount of PGG funds that would be requested for GIS mapping. PPG funds will be used to hire a project leader to oversee the development of a collaborative conservation plan for portions of Durham, Orange, and Chatham counties. The plan will identify high - priority landscape corridors between significant natural areas and wildlife habitat in the Jordan Lake watershed and a "land bridge" between the Neuse and Cape Fear River basins. Protecting these corridors is critical for native plants and animals to survive across a mosaic of habitat types within the Central Piedmont Region. Without these connections, the existing patchwork of conservation lands will become further isolated, threatening their value and contribution to the long -term persistence of species and ecosystem services. The plan will synthesize existing data and land protection tools for the project area and build upon the ongoing work of the Chatham Conservation Partnership, which developed strategies for protecting a network of natural areas and wildlife corridors in Chatham County. The plan will also leverage the significant energies and on- the - ground protections already in place by the many public and private entities participating in this project. The partners realize the existing protected areas are in danger of becoming further isolated by roadways and other causes of habitat fragmentation. In the face of increasing threats and environmental changes, these natural areas require protected landscape corridors to maintain ecosystem functions and processes. The plan will identify prioritized land parcels for preserving critical landscape corridors, recommendations for how to protect the corridors, and -the entities capable of pursuing the protection needed at each location. The plan will be developed by a contractor with guidance of the Steering Committee. It will be presented to local government jurisdictions to facilitate their consideration of land use policies and ordinances that could support the plan. The provision of GIS data a-nd technical information by Steering Committee members will count toward non - federal in -kind match. M