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trespassers entering the Blackwood Division on foot or on bicycle from unauthorized trails through the adjacent county parcels and our undeveloped ten acres. Trespassers are a particular threat to the expensive equipment and monitoring instruments throughout these forests. Duke Forestry also has an ongoing problem with people dumping garbage in their Blackwood Division, especially on Wednesdays when the County’s solid waste and recycling center on Eubanks Road is closed. The staff at Duke Forestry foresee these problems getting worse if and when Orange County develops the Millhouse Road Park for recreation, which will include a public parking lot. Our plans would therefore benefit Duke Forest when, for our own purposes, we add security to our 10-acre private-land buffer between the recreational fields and Duke Forest. Close to our 10-acre parcel, Duke Forest allows seasonal deer hunting and utilizes regular, prescribed burnings to maintain their “Piedmont Prairies” such as Blackwood Field. Knowing the ecological benefits of these practices, neither Duke Forestry nor the county will receive complaints from us about smoke or hunting. Likewise, knowing that ongoing research in the Blackwood Division may be sensitive to light pollution, we are happy to follow dark sky guidelines for avoiding any conflict. Our interests and ethos regarding trees, forests, and teaching are well aligned. To our north and west are County-owned parcels, largely undeveloped, that together compromise 78 acres. In 2004 and 2007, Orange County purchased these parcels with the idea of using them for future recreational facilities, including lighted fields and potentially an indoor recreational center, under the name Millhouse Road Park. 14 In 2018 the Board of County Commissioners looked into the possibility of using its adjacent parcels for a 34-unit manufactured home park. This resulted in a 240 page property evaluation. Since all of this land is in the Rural Buffer, these sites would have depended on septic systems, ground water from wells, and rezoning to HP-CZD. The major obstacles appear to have been the inadequate soils, wetlands, and likely inadequate or cost-prohibitive well and waste-water options for the envisioned park. 15 Aspirations for the manufactured home park appear to have been abandoned. Our 10-acre parcel is situated towards the back corner of the 78-acre Millhouse Road Park site. Our plans for our parcel are compatible with the County’s plans for rezoning and development of the Millhouse Road Park site for recreational use. As a headquarters for our company, our 10-acres would also extend the recreational options for the community. In 2018 we began offering free-to-the public, in-depth weekly tree climbing courses. At our current location, which 15 see pp. 32f from the June 5th, BOCC meeting minutes 14 2014 Parks and Recreation Master Plan, section 3-22 16 33