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6 <br /> 1 Portions of the plan would involve road construction within the Oosting Natural Area and also <br /> 2 through the Northwoods residential community. The resolution opposes NCDOT incursion into <br /> 3 the Oosting Natural Area, which is part of the "Rural Buffer" and defers comment on <br /> 4 Northwoods until more information is presented. <br /> 5 <br /> 6 Commissioner Jacobs said he and Commissioner Marcoplos were at the elected <br /> 7 officials DOT meeting, and they saw a map that mentioned Duke University, without any further <br /> 8 differentiation. He said the consultants discussed the environmental impacts, but failed to <br /> 9 mention the significance of the Oosting natural area. He said as a result, he is proposing the <br /> 10 following resolution, which he read: <br /> 11 <br /> 12 <br /> 13 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> 14 RESOLUTION OPPOSING <br /> 15 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <br /> 16 INCURSION INTO THE OOSTING NATURAL AREA <br /> 17 <br /> 18 WHEREAS, Orange County has a longstanding commitment to environmental protection; and <br /> 19 <br /> 20 WHEREAS, for more than 30 years Orange County, in partnership with Chapel Hill and <br /> 21 Carrboro, has been committed to development according to a joint land-use plan that protects <br /> 22 significant natural areas in the central part of the county, including large sections of Duke <br /> 23 Forest in area designated as the "Rural Buffer"; and <br /> 24 <br /> 25 WHEREAS, the Henry J. Oosting Natural Area, a segment of Duke Forest adjacent to Whitfield <br /> 26 Road at the northeast quadrant of the Interstate 40 intersection with NC 86/Martin Luther King <br /> 27 Boulevard, is within the area recognized by local governments for protection; and <br /> 28 <br /> 29 WHEREAS, the Oosting Natural Area is a Registered Natural Heritage Area, placed in 2004 in <br /> 30 the protection program stipulated by the North Carolina Nature Preserves Act, providing crucial <br /> 31 connectivity of natural habitats in an increasingly urban and suburban setting across Orange <br /> 32 and Durham counties; and <br /> 33 <br /> 34 WHEREAS, the Oosting Natural Area was recognized in 1979 by the North Carolina <br /> 35 Department of Transportation's (NCDOT) own Planning and Research Branch for "protective <br /> 36 measures" during the design and construction of 1-40; and <br /> 37 <br /> 38 WHEREAS, the Oosting Natural Area, managed by Duke University for "long range ecological <br /> 39 research and related activity" since 1959, currently is host to extensive research activities; and <br /> 40 <br /> 41 WHEREAS, any environmental assessment conducted by or on behalf of NCDOT that fails to <br /> 42 take into account the rare value of the Oosting Natural Area is insufficient and misleading; <br /> 43 <br /> 44 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Orange County Board of County Commissioners <br /> 45 calls upon NCDOT to avoid any additional road or construction incursion into the Henry J. <br /> 46 Oosting Natural Area in association with redesigning this interchange or widening 1-40 now or in <br /> 47 the future. <br /> 48 <br /> 49 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of County Commissioners <br /> 50 requests that NCDOT carefully consider alternatives to disrupting not only this key segment of <br />