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43 <br /> EXISTING LAND PROTECTION PRIORITIES <br /> Many jurisdictions have identified or mapped specific land protection priorities in planning documents, <br /> which we summarize here by jurisdiction. As expected,many of these priorities overlap with the priority <br /> habitat and corridor areas identified in this project(and some priorities from older plans have already <br /> been protected). However, it should be noted that not all priorities suggested in these documents have <br /> been incorporated into formally adopted plans or ordinances. More detailed comparison of this project's <br /> corridor analysis results to existing priorities and other conservation data layers can guide a <br /> comprehensive reassessment of land protection priorities that considers landscape-wide habitat <br /> connectivity within and between jurisdictions. <br /> CHATHAM-CARY <br /> The Chatham County Town of Cary Joint Land Use Plan (2012,last amended 2016)prioritizes a <br /> natural buffer along either side of the American Tobacco Trail(ATT)right-of-way(consistent with the <br /> Town of Cary's Land Development Ordinance)and,where needed, supplemental plantings to achieve an <br /> opaque or semi-opaque buffer. The buffer does not apply to existing development plans. <br /> DURHAM-ORANGE-CHAPEL HILL <br /> Priorities from the New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan (199 1) and County/Town resolutions <br /> include(adopted as comprehensive plan amendments by Orange County and the Town of Chapel Hill, <br /> and"in concept"by Durham City-County): <br /> • From the resolution: Overland areas between watersheds,the 100-year floodplain of New Hope <br /> Creek and Mud Creek, and a 200-foot-wide corridor between Duke Forest and Eno River State <br /> Park. Corridor areas are shown in a map attached to the resolution. <br /> • From the master plan: The stream course, 100-year floodplain,20%slopes adjacent to <br /> floodplains,the remaining land between the top of a slope and the nearest road or existing <br /> development,the NC 751 Scenic Road, larger tracts of particular historic, educational, or <br /> recreational value (open space anchors), and protection of wildlife via mapped wildlife protection <br /> areas <br /> • The plan further states, "...strict protection of 20% slopes would result in a patchwork of isolated <br /> areas too small to serve as habitat or survive over time. Therefore,it was determined that in <br /> keeping with the environmental,recreational, and educational purposes of this Plan, a buffer 200' <br /> wide should be preserved adjacent to certain floodplains as indicated in the appropriate <br /> components. This buffer includes much of the steep slopes..." <br /> • Specific sites recommended by the plan include: <br /> o New Hope Creek from NC 54 north and west to Erwin Road in Orange County <br /> o Dry Creek from New Hope Creek on the north side of Chapel Hill-Durham Boulevard <br /> west to Erwin Road and the future Chapel Hill greenway <br /> o Mud Creek from New Hope Creek north to NC 751 <br /> o Connections between Mud Creek-NC 751 and Eno River State Park along NC 751 and <br /> Orange County roads(to the west) <br /> o Sandy Creek from New Hope Creek on the south side of Chapel Hill-Durham Boulevard <br /> northeast across the Boulevard to NC 751 <br /> More detailed recommendations for each site are provided in the plan. The plan lists 1,802 acres to be <br /> protected(1,699 by acquisition or donation,the rest by conservation easement). Maps in the plan show <br /> the areas recommended for protection. <br /> 30 A Landscape Plan for Wildlife Habitat Connectivity <br />