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I . Introduction Orange County represents 0 . 5 % of the Southern Appalachian Piedmont, an ecoregion lying between the mountains and the Atlantic coastal plain, and extending from Maryland to Alabama . The Piedmont forest is comprised primarily of mixed hardwood tree species , dominated by oaks and hickories , but containing a rich diversity of tree species and a very diverse understory plant community . This plant diversity supports a rich assemblage of animal species . Orange County is home to at least 1500 non-human species , though the exact number is not known . The dense habitation of the Piedmont region since European settlement, and to some extent prior to that, has led to a heterogeneous landscape of forests of many ages and types - - the result of considerable human disturbance . As the stewards of this piece of the Piedmont, it is our task to offer what protection is feasible to the least disturbed elements found in the County , and to provide secure habitat over the long term for the plants and animals currently residing on the land . lie Current Status of Biological Resources in Orange County Our current understanding of the biological state of the County derives from three principal documents : the 1988 biological inventory by Sather and Hall and two Landscape with Wildlife reports by Ludington, Hall and Wiley for the Triangle Land Conservancy (LWW4 , 1997 , and LWW4I , 1999 ) . In addition, the Environment and Resource Conservation Department (ERCD ) has data from the NC Natural Heritage Program on the occurrences of important biological elements in the County , both of species and of biological communities . LWW41 identifies large , older hardwood forests as the most important sites for wildlife preservation in the County . While the report accomplishes this admirably , it is also important to recognize that not all old forests are alike , and that the prime forests identified in the TLC reports represent a diverse matrix of different ecological community types , each with distinct associated species . Sather and Hall document 16 different natural communities in the County , some of which are large enough to show on the prime forest maps , and some of which are not . Thus it is important to note that while LWW4I is intended to be viewed as an important supplement to Sather and Hall, it does not function as an update to it . State of our Forests Declining in area ? Ten percent of Orange County' s forests are estimated to have been lost or impacted over the past decade , primarily as a result of residential building (TLC , Landscape with Wildlife , Parts I and II) . However this is only an estimate based on building permits issued . This percentage does not account for forest clearing that occurred independently of the building permitting process in this same time interval , nor does it reflect the net change in forest cover, as it does not 3