Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: December 11, 2018 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-d <br /> SUBJECT: Resolution of Approval —Adopt Best Management Practices for Roadsides and <br /> Utility Rights-of-Way that Benefit Pollinators and Native Plants in Orange <br /> County, NC <br /> DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, Parks <br /> and Recreation (DEAPR) <br /> ATTACHMENTS INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> 1. Draft Resolution David Stancil, 245-2510 <br /> 2. NC Botanical Garden Letter Kim Livingston, 245-2514 <br /> 3. Resolution (June 2012) Tom Davis, 245-2513 <br /> 4. CFE Memo & Resolution (November <br /> 2009) <br /> 5. CFE Memo (December 2006) <br /> PURPOSE: To consider a resolution to implement voluntary roadside and utility rights-of- <br /> way best management practices that will increase the visibility, enjoyment, and conservation <br /> of pollinators and native plants along the roadways and utility rights-of-way in Orange <br /> County. <br /> BACKGROUND: In 2006 the Commission for the Environment (CFE) began examining the <br /> use of herbicides to control the growth of vegetation on roadsides and utility rights-of-way, <br /> and the adverse effects of herbicides on certain roadsides that provide habitat for a variety of <br /> native plants, some of which are rare in Orange County. <br /> In 2012 the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) adopted a resolution recommending <br /> identifying roadsides with uniquely important habitats and working with landowners and utility <br /> managers to conserve those areas. That resolution was a follow-up to a 2009 CFE adopted <br /> resolution recommending that all use of herbicides to manage roadsides and utility rights-of- <br /> way be discontinued in Orange County, and that mowing be reinstated as the sole means of <br /> managing unwanted vegetation in those areas. The 2009 CFE resolution was a follow-up to <br /> a December 2006 memo to the BOCC in which the CFE reported on this subject. Copies of <br /> those documents are attached. <br /> The North Carolina Botanical Garden (NCBG) and volunteers surveyed Orange County <br /> roadways to identify uniquely important habitats and found that virtually all roadsides and <br /> utility corridors had valuable native habitats for pollinators worthy of conservation. <br /> Additionally, the NCBG found that the NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) was <br /> mowing rather than using herbicides as their primary means for vegetation control, and utility <br /> companies were still using herbicide as their primary means for vegetation control. The <br /> NCBG requested that the CFE consider revising the 2012 resolution to reflect the change in <br /> focus on roadside and rights-of-way conservation. <br />