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Our comments focus on the following five areas that we feel require further development or attention in the course of implementing SOCF ' s recommendations : 1 . Mechanisms for stopping the fragmentation of extant rural lands 2 . Adequate protection for identified sites of biological significance 3 . Long term solutions for working farms and for farmlands . 4 . Improvement of environmental education , both in schools and in the community 5 . Recognition of the importance of economic factors ( e . g . financing and markets ) in shaping trends in land use . 1 . Mechanisms for stopping the fragmentation of extant rural lands The report gives abundant vision of a future Orange County where development is compact , centered in discrete areas , serviced by public transportation , walkable and bikable - all laudable things to aim for in environmental protection . However , the question remains as to how we will get there from our current model of growth . The current low density development ( 2 , 5 , and 10 acre lots ) within the rural buffer and other rural areas , fostered by current zoning regulations , is a recipe for urban sprawl , and a quick means to total fragmentation of our few remaining large hardwood prime forest tracts . There are currently too few mechanisms in place to abate this pattern of settlement , which not only assures the loss of much remaining natural habitat in the County , but also works against many goals outside of the environmental ones , such as building community , affordability , and transportation aims . We recognize the difficulty of taking on this question , as indeed low density rural living is what many people want , and what may attract them to Orange County as a place to live . But protection of our biological resources requires some forces that counteract this type of planned fragmentation . From a biological perspective , while these fragmented forests may look much like hardwood forests dotted with homes , they in fact will no longer function as such for many species who rely on forest interiors , such as ground - nesting birds , who will become displaced from the County ; we may have retained many of the trees , but we will no longer have the forest . One possible mechanism to help counteract such patterns is to support the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) concept as a means to achieve the dual goals of more compact development and open space preservation . Increased examination of the development and integration of a TDR program with other land use planning tools as are listed on p . 42 in the SOCF report , and target TDR when feasible .