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<br /> and Resource Conservation
<br /> Department, using a mix of county
<br /> dollars and state funds and grants,
<br /> plans to acquire land to preserve News & Observer photo by Harry Lynch
<br /> for parks, farmland or natural Orange conservation manager (Rick Shaw spent Wednesday
<br /> habitats . The county has made a morning walking around the new 63 - acre McGowan Greek
<br /> priority of acquiring at least 213 Preserve west of Hillsborough ,
<br /> acres of natural land this year,
<br /> of a land acquisition program in a county owns only 0 . 24 percent of
<br /> including the area along
<br /> written proposal to other commis - that land — 632 acres .
<br /> McGowan Creek. The acquisitions
<br /> primarily will be areas for recre- sinners, who adopted the Lands To acquire more, the county
<br /> ational use, including public trails Legacy program in April . The plans to buy some parcels, ask for
<br /> in woodlands . county s Environment and donations of land and solicit con-
<br /> Resource Conservation servation easements whereby
<br /> Though other counties have _ Department was created about landowners voluntarilyagree to
<br /> undertaken 's' larict 'presLatvatio`rt twb• yVars ago in part . tQ . handle the , . conserve. . arts of their and while
<br /> r . . 1 A _ r . . * 7 J / . 1 AJ •. ).1 . 1 . l l ..r . L1 .c... .. -
<br /> efforts; Orange is the first in the ' monumental task. . _F hlti
<br /> Triang�e� � � . � .: . . 7 . ; 7 . . . . 7 . , . . retaining ownership, - - . . .:_._ __ : . . �. . . : • . . - .
<br /> with a formal program Wliat concerns .Commissioner . Land . conservation ^mama er=
<br /> primarily aimed at acquiring land Margaret Brown most is the coup- Rich Shaw said the countywill not
<br /> to save it from development. ty' s disappearing crop fields . take any land by emmen domain,
<br /> The initiative is scheduled to Farmland has decreased from a process with which a overn-
<br /> stretch over 10 years and could 187,000 acres in 1957 to 67, 000 ment takes over private land for
<br /> encompass thousands of acres, at a acres at the last count in 1997. public use ,
<br /> county cost of $5 million . Several Officials contribute the loss to land The county plans to form
<br /> money sources would be tapped, development and economic hard- alliances with other agencies ,
<br /> including a 1997 voter-approved ships such as the Triangle
<br /> Land
<br /> parks bond and a Lands Le ac g
<br /> g y "'We' re trying to get out in front Conservancy, which also buys -fund, made up primarily of sales and be proactive," Brown said . "I and preserves land . The conser-
<br /> tax revenue , hope we' re building a model that vancy has. preserved about 750
<br /> A hodgepodge of private agen- other counties could use . " acres in Orange County, said
<br /> cies buys natural areas to save Legislators approved, as part of director of land protection Kevin them from development, but only this year' s state budget, $64 * mil- Brice . In the past, organization
<br /> a few counties in North Carolina lion in four major trust funds — has worked with Orange and
<br /> have similar programs, said natural heritage, clean water man- Durham counties , Chapel Hill
<br /> Margaret Jordan, spokeswoman agement, parks and recreation and and the city of Durham to buy for the state parks and recreation farmland preservation . About $31 nearly 1 , 000 acres alongNew
<br /> division of the Department of million of that is available for land Hope Creek .
<br /> Environment and Natural preservation. "It' s a wonderful g lan," Brice _Resources . Among them are Orange County also could get a said . "I ' see a growingawareness
<br /> Mecklenburg, Burke ' and New federal financial boost. In May, the that progress doesn't have to come
<br /> Hanover counties . U. S . House passed the at the expense of what makes thus
<br /> Officials say that land preserva- Conservation and Reinvestment area special. "
<br /> tion is necessary to scale back a Act, which would direct $2 . 85 bil-
<br /> loss of open space, particularly in lion a year into federal and state Stephaan Harris can be reached at
<br /> the face of residential and business land acquisition, restoration of 932=2015 or shams@nando . com
<br /> development. Orange County' s coastal areas, recovery efforts for
<br /> conservation department esti- endangered species and other pro-
<br /> mates, for example, that 25 percent grams .
<br /> of the county's prime forest land North Carolina' s annual cut
<br /> was lost in the last 20 years . could be $43 .5 million — money
<br /> Former county planning director that Orange County could apply '
<br /> Marvin Collins, who died in July for. This fund, made up of offshore
<br /> 1998, inspired initial discussion in oil and gas drilling revenue, is
<br /> a 1996 report on how preservation scheduled to be discussed in a U. S .
<br /> could be a function of local gov- Senate committee this month.
<br /> ernment . County Commissioner although Orange County
<br /> Alice Gordon introduced the idea encompasses 256, 000 acres, the
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