Orange County NC Website
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~a <br />2 <br />3 <br />4 <br />5 <br />6 <br />7 <br />8 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />29 <br />30 <br />31 <br />32 <br />33 <br />34 <br />35 <br />36 <br />37 <br />38 <br />39 <br />40 <br />41 <br />42 <br />43 <br />44 <br />45 <br />46 <br />ERCD Advisory Boards and Staff Revisions to NCSE -Attachment #7 <br />STATUS OF RARE PLANTS AND ANIMALS <br />The conversion of natural lands to urban or suburban uses results <br />in habitat loss for native plants and animals, and can result in loss <br />of native species. The North Carolina Natural Heritage rare plant <br />and animal species and classifies them as endangered, threatened <br />or species of concern. The status of Orange County's rare plant <br />and animal species is provided in Appendix G. <br />Since 2002 three species (Carolina darter,. sharp-shinned hawk, <br />small whorled pogonia) were changed from the "Current" to the <br />"Historic" category, meaning that they have not been observed in <br />Orange County during the past ZO years. The 2004 update of the <br />Inventory of Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitat for Orange County, <br />North Carolina confirmed the' previous documentation of several <br />rare species within the county's natural areas and added one new <br />species, the Carolina Ladle Crayfish. <br />CURRENT ESTIMATES O~ PRC?TECTEC? LAN_Q <br />The County's Environment and Resource Conservation Department <br />(ERCD) maintains a comprehensive database of protected lands <br />throughout the County, including public parkland, nature <br />preserves, and other public and private open space dedicated for <br />conservation. The data includes Conservation easements held by <br />local land trusts, OWASA, Orange County and several other entities. <br />The protected land data and trends are reported in the County's <br />State of the Environment report, which is published by the <br />Commission for the Environment (CfE). The report describes the <br />condition of many important natural resources in the County, <br />including its biological resources. The CfE plays an important role <br />in the protection of those resources by advising the Board of <br />Commissioners on which lands should be protected through the <br />Lands Legacy program and designing future parks in ways that <br />protect sensitive resource areas. <br />In 2004 the State of the Environment reported there were 19,265 <br />acres of protected land in Orange County, and that just over half of <br />that land was considered "permanently" protected.' a~p--6-S <br />' Permanently protected is defined here as meaning that along-term binding agreement <br />to preserve land was executed. <br />dYa.YL~PiCo~.ty Co~Ye~.vi~dv~t la.vv Public Hearing Draft 5-6-08 Page 6-~• <br />