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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> ., <br /> Department of Environment, <br /> Agriculture, Parks &Recreation <br /> To: Board of County Commissioners <br /> From: Christian Hirni, Land Conservation Manager <br /> David Stancil, DEAPR Director <br /> Date: April 4, 2023 <br /> Subject: Eno-New Hope Landscape Conservation Group - Strategic Action Plan <br /> Several years ago, a group of experts and staff within the conservation community from Orange and <br /> Durham counties, Duke University's Duke Forest Teaching and Research Laboratory, Eno River <br /> Association,Triangle Land Conservancy, NC Natural Heritage Program, NC Wildlife Resources <br /> Commission, NC Botanical Garden, and other practitioners/experts began meeting to discuss the <br /> need for collaborative conservation planning across jurisdictional lines for a four-county area <br /> (Orange, Durham, Chatham, and Wake counties).These counties share many of the same <br /> watersheds and wildlife corridors/open space networks, and all have conducted inventories of <br /> natural areas and spent significant time and resources documenting and working to protect <br /> conservation lands. In discussions,the concept of the multi-county plan was centered on the <br /> importance of connections between existing conserved lands for wildlife, natural <br /> communities/habitats, and ecosystem services. The collaborating group met on several occasions <br /> and agreed that the focus of the plan should be built around one of the most important shared <br /> areas,the connections of the New Hope Creek and Eno River conservation networks, and that this <br /> plan be made available to local counties and municipalities, public and private institutions, and <br /> nonprofit land conservancies in the four-county region for use in prioritizing conservation efforts <br /> inclusion into local policies and plans. <br /> The group determined the need for a spatial analysis and mapping effort to demonstrate the most <br /> vital connections between conserved and undeveloped areas for wildlife and the ecosystem types <br /> which support them. <br /> Funding was secured from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission,with additional support from <br /> Orange County,to hire a consultant to conduct the spatial analysis, research the data, and create <br /> the analysis layers and associated maps.Through collaborative brainstorming sessions,three <br /> keystone species were identified to best represent their distinctive habitats and other associated <br /> animals, as well as their corridor, or connectivity, requirements. These species and their respective <br /> habitats are as follows: <br /> Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation <br /> PO Box 8181/306-A Revere Road <br /> Hillsborough, NC 27278 <br /> (919) 245-2510 <br />