Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> PROCLAMATION <br /> Recognition of 25 Years of Conservation Initiatives by County <br /> Government / Great Trails State Day 2024 <br /> WHEREAS , the year 2024 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the approval and <br /> formation of conservation initiatives including the creation of the County ' s Environment <br /> and Resource Conservation Department ( now the Department of Environment , <br /> Agriculture , Parks , and Recreation ) , and creation of a program for conservation and <br /> protection of the County ' s most important natural and cultural resource lands (which <br /> became the Lands Legacy Program ) ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the new department was tasked with the purposes of 1 ) Overseeing , <br /> implementing , and coordinating County goals for environmental protection and resource <br /> conservation ; 2 ) Developing and implementing a program for the acquisition and <br /> management of land for resource conservation ; 3 ) Integrating current and future natural <br /> and cultural resource data into a Comprehensive Resource Database ; 4 ) Providing staff <br /> support to Commissions and Boards ; and 5 ) Working collaboratively with other <br /> departments and agencies on resource conservation ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the department was staffed with existing and new positions with expertise in <br /> environmental planning , landscape architecture and park design , land conservation , <br /> water resource conservation , and cultural resource conservation ( historic and agricultural <br /> preservation ) ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the subsequent development of the Lands Legacy Program was created and <br /> approved as a comprehensive initiative in April 2000 , implementing the goal of a program <br /> working with willing landowners for the conservation , acquisition and management of <br /> important lands for natural and cultural resources ; and <br /> WHEREAS , the Lands Legacy Program has since been successful in the conservation <br /> of approximately 1 , 114 acres for eight current or future parks , and holds conservation <br /> easements on approximately 2 , 973 acres , with over 2 , 300 of these acres protecting active <br /> farms ; and <br /> WHEREAS , in these 25 years , the Lands Legacy Program has received over $ 6 . 1 million <br /> dollars in federal and state match grant funds aiding in the acquisition of the above , <br /> working with a variety of conservation partners and willing landowners ; and <br />