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y MEMORANDUM DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT From: Commission for the Environment To : David Stancil and Rich Shaw , Orange County ERCD Date : October 16 , 2001 RE : Lands Legacy Action Plan for FY 2002-03 The Orange County Commission for the Environment recommends that the following sites , areas , and actions be considered for taking priority in the Lands Legacy Action Plan for FY 2002-03 . These sites are presented in no special order. ERCD staff should feel free to prioritize as they see fit . First, the County should continue its current efforts to protect three areas identified in the priority list of projects for the 2001 -02 Action Plan : Seven Mile Creek, Southern Shagbark Hickory Forest and Pickards Mountain . Efforts to establish a Seven. Mile Creek Preserve is a multi -year project , and are likely to be carried forward into FY 2002-03 . Two large tracts totaling 134 acres were purchased by Orange County in June 2001 , and included a portion of Natural Area E02 . If current efforts to protect portions of the Southern Shagbark Hickory Forest adjacent to Mason Farm Biological Reserve (Natural Area Site M 16 ) and Pickards Mountain (NA Site M01 ) are not completed by June 2002 , they may need to be carried forward FY 2002-03 . For the 2002 -03 Action Plan the CFE recommends including priority sites in the Upper Eno River watershed critical area, the Upper New Hope Creek basin , and other riparian habitats , including the Eno River corridor and lands surrounding Eno River State Park. The CFE ' s Biological Resources Committee would like to be consulted to identify specific locations within those areas to concentrate staff efforts . 1 . Upper Eno River watershed critical areas Cooperate with the Eno River Association on land acquisition and conservation easements in critical areas in the Upper Eno watershed . Work on protecting high priority tracts using data generated by Brian Dobyns & Perry Suggs ( CWMTF grant) . 2 . Lands adjacent to Eno River State Park (ERSP) Cooperate with ERSP and the Eno River Association on land acquisition and conservation easements to improve buffer areas around the state park. 3 . Upper New Hope Creek Cooperate with the Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC) and the New Hope Creek Corridor Advisory Committee (NCCAC) on land acquisition , conservation easements (and land management) in the Upper New Hope Creek watershed . The NCCAC has requested increased riparian protection efforts along the upper reaches of New Hope Creek (upstream of TLC ' s Johnston Mill Preserve) . The TLC report Rating Land in Orange County for its Wildlife Value ( 1999) identifies this area as containing some substantial areas of less fragmented hardwood forest . The report of the Biological Resources Committee in the State of the Environment Report 2000 also identifies the headwaters of New Hope Creek, the uplands in the central part of the County , as a priority for protection . 4 . Higher Priority Natural Areas The CFE also recommends including the higher priority Natural Area Sites in the 2002-03 Action Plan . ERCD should work with the BRC to identify priority sites for natural area acquisition or pursuing conservation easements . The BRC would like to be invited on site visits to those locations as opportunities arise .