Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
NEED FORA WAY <br />TO EVALUATE FORESTS FO R WI LD LI FE <br />here are two motivations for attempting <br />to evaluate habitats for their contribu- <br />tions to populations of wildlife. First, <br />there is the question of which tracts of habitat <br />are currently the most important for wildlife. <br />Second, there is the question of the best use for <br />a particular tract of land. <br />Wildlife does not care whether its habitat is <br />privately or publicly owned. Nor' does the <br />wildlife of Orange County change much as some <br />forests are cut while others mature. The problem <br />is the progressive disappearance of forest as a <br />result of its loss for either private or public alter- <br />natives, either subdivisions or highways, timber- <br />ing or reservoirs. <br />To reduce these pressures on forests, it would <br />help to know the value of a forest for wildlife. <br />Yet, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to place a <br />dollar value on a forest as a habitat for native <br />wildlife. In the end, reducing homes, reservoirs, <br />and wildlife to a common currency might never <br />reach a consensus. Homes, reservoirs, and <br />timber have an advantage over wildlife in part <br />because there are ways to compare the value of <br />different tracts of land for housing, water, or <br />timber, but not for wildlife. <br />Wildlife would fare better at the negotiating <br />table if there were also ways to compare different <br />tracts of land by their value for wildlife. We need <br />to know which of two tracts is more valuable for <br />wildlife, how much a proposed change in use of <br />a tract affects its value for wildlife, or how much <br />an increase in value for wildlife in one place can <br />mitigate a loss in another place. Only then can <br />we minimize adverse consequences for wildlife <br />and negotiate mitigation for the benefit of <br />wildlife. Only then can we know whether <br />Orange County is maintaining its value as a <br />Landscape with Wildlife. <br />EVALUATING ORANGE COUNTY'S <br />FORESTS <br />There are two ways to evaluate forests as habi- <br />tats for wildlife: direct and indirect. Direct <br />methods, such as scientific surveys, provide the <br />most accurate information. Because of the time <br />and expense required, however, it is seldom prac- <br />tical to obtain surveys for every tract of habitat <br />in an area as large as Orange County. <br />Furthermore, surveys inevitably focus on a <br />9 <br />