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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: February 4, 2003 <br />Action Agen a <br />Item No. - G <br />SUBJECT: Resolution in Support of "Eno Wilderness" Project <br />DEPARTMENT: Environment and Resource PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />Conservation <br />ATTACHMENT <br />1) Resolution of Support <br />2) Eno Wilderness Project Summary <br />3) Map of Planned Purchase <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />David Stancil, 245-2590 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />PURPOSE: To consider a resolution of support for the conservation of the "Eno Wilderness", <br />a project conducted by the N.C. Office of State Parks and the Eno River Association to <br />acquire 815 acres of identified Natural Heritage lands along the Eno River in eastern Orange <br />County. <br />BACKGROUND: In November, the State of North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation <br />(Office of State Parks) announced an option to acquire 815 acres of land along the Eno River <br />in eastern Orange County. This land, a portion of what is commonly known as the "DuBose <br />Tract", contains hundreds of acres of identified Natural Heritage sites and chestnut oak <br />forests, and is adjacent to the Eno River State Park. <br />The Eno River Association works in partnership with N.C. State Parks to protect and <br />purchase lands for the Eno River State Park. The Association assists the state through the <br />establishment of landowner relations, conducting negotiations for property purchase, by <br />negotiating and funding purchases of land that can be later transferred to the state park, by <br />acting as the park advisory committee for the Eno River State Park, and by assisting the park <br />through trail workdays, or the purchase of necessary supplies or equipment. <br />In this case, the Association is working to raise support for funding to acquire the property <br />among State trust funds and its own members. To date, just over $2 million has been <br />committed toward this purchase from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF), the <br />Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Eno River Association.