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24 <br /> for grouping NHNAs into larger,related conservation priority areas;no longer used by NCNHP)but does <br /> not include the suggested wildlife corridor system from the 1988 report. <br /> REGIONAL LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT <br /> In 2008 NCNHP, in association with the North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement Program(EEP), <br /> produced a"Statewide Assessment of Conservation Priorities at the Landscape Level"(Hall 2008,2009). <br /> This assessment,which consists of a report on riparian habitats (Hall 2008) and a separate report on <br /> Eastern Piedmont upland and inter-basin habitats(Hall 2009), identifies and maps core wildlife habitat <br /> areas and linear habitat connectors between them for natural communities that represent habitat types in <br /> seven geographic regions, including the project area within the Eastern Piedmont region. The maps <br /> encompass NHNAs from the county inventories but include additional habitat areas for a broader set of <br /> indicator wildlife species beyond the rare,threatened, and endangered species tracked by NCNHP. <br /> This statewide assessment introduced Hall's Landscape/Habitat Indicator Guild(LHIG) approach (Hall <br /> 2008)to identifying regional conservation priorities,with a focus on protecting a connected network of <br /> core habitats for guilds of indicator species that have similar habitat and movement needs and that <br /> respond in similar ways to landscape fragmentation. These indicator species collectively serve as <br /> indicators of landscape habitat integrity and,as a result, can represent the conservation needs of many <br /> species and natural communities.LHIGs as defined by Hall form the underpinning of the landscape <br /> corridor analysis in this project, and the geographic information systems (GIS)data for Hall's core- <br /> connector maps were updated for the project area in 2017-18 by Hall(unpublished)in support of this <br /> project. <br /> CORRIDOR PLANNING <br /> Three previous planning efforts have focused on landscape or riparian corridors in the project area: the <br /> New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan(Coulter Associates and New Hope Corridor Advisory <br /> Committee 1991),the Durham County Open Space Corridor System plan(Durham City-County Planning <br /> Department 1993), and the Triangle GreenPrint Regional Open Space Assessment(NC Division of Parks <br /> and Recreation et al. 2002). <br /> In 1989 Durham County,the City of Durham, Orange County, and the Town of Chapel Hill <br /> commissioned a detailed plan for protecting open space in the New Hope Creek corridor, extending <br /> northward from the USACE lands around Jordan Lake. Following a survey and mapping of the natural <br /> areas within this corridor(Burger and Harrison 1989,Appendix E in Coulter Associates and New Hope <br /> Corridor Advisory Committee 1991),a consultant and an appointed advisory committee representing each <br /> of the four jurisdictions worked with planning staff to prepare a master plan for preserving the New Hope <br /> Creek corridor. They were charged with: "... creating an open space corridor linking the Eno River State <br /> Park,New Hope Creek, [USACE] Lands,and the growing communities of Durham and Chapel Hill for <br /> aesthetic, environmental, educational,and recreational purposes,and as a means of shaping the urban <br /> form of the area." <br /> The resulting New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan(Coulter Associates and New Hope Corridor <br /> Advisory Committee 199 1)identified potential recreational trails and key wildlife corridors with detailed <br /> recommendations on how to secure those areas over a 20-year period. Further, in 1993 the UNC Chapel <br /> Hill Department of City and Regional Planning worked with the Orange County Planning Department to <br /> develop the New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan: Proposals for Linking Duke Forest with Eno <br /> River State Park(UNC Chapel Hill Department of City and Regional Planning 1993). This study <br /> continued the work of the earlier New Hope Creek corridor plan by further defining corridor links in east <br /> central Orange County. The project identified a potential recreational trail and a separate wildlife corridor <br /> (200 feet wide)to link the Durham Division of Duke Forest and Eno River State Park. The New Hope <br /> Creek Corridor Advisory Committee remains in existence,has been active in monitoring conservation and <br /> development efforts in the New Hope Creek Corridor,and has been effective in providing expertise and <br /> A Landscape Plan for Wildlife Habitat Connectivity 11 <br />