Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
39 <br /> RESULTS <br /> LANDSCAPE HABITAT-CORRIDOR NETWORK <br /> Final corridor analysis results for the three habitat guilds combined reveal a backbone habitat-corridor <br /> network running primarily north-south through the project area(Figure 12(a)). Most prominently,results <br /> illustrate the high importance of the central New Hope Creek-Jordan Lake corridor in supporting <br /> biodiversity and maintaining habitat connectivity across the project area. Also prominent are the Eno <br /> River corridor and areas where opportunities exist for protection of corridors across the Eno River-New <br /> Hope Creek watershed boundary,which is also a boundary between the Neuse and Cape Fear River <br /> basins,respectively. <br /> Results also illustrate how the habitat-corridor network connects NHNAs (which may be considered high- <br /> value biodiversity"source nodes") across the project area(Figure 12(b)), and areas where land protection <br /> is needed to keep existing conservation lands,the overall network,and neighboring watersheds connected <br /> (Figure 12(c)). In the review and interpretation of results,members of the project subcommittees <br /> tentatively identified(not shown)protection opportunities,notable gaps, and vulnerable areas in the <br /> priority habitat network, including several pinch points along major corridors where urgent protection or <br /> restoration action is needed. <br /> The GIS layers encompassing the analysis results will be provided to the project participants,natural <br /> resource professionals, and local government planners and decision-makers as a resource for more <br /> detailed and ongoing assessment,prioritization, and update of the landscape habitat-corridor network. In <br /> particular, further assessment of the results with respect to existing land use layers and conservation <br /> planning tools will help shape the integration of these results into an overall landscape conservation <br /> strategy for the project area. Care should be taken when using the results to consider the assumptions and <br /> limitations of the methods of analysis and the data inputs,particularly the 30 m x 30 m resolution of the <br /> base land cover layer,which(for example) cannot effectively identify finer-scale urban vegetation and <br /> riparian corridors. <br /> 26 A Landscape Plan for Wildlife Habitat Connectivity <br />