Agenda - 09-29-1999 - 9e - Laserfiche WebLink

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Confirmation in the field. Any application of the ratings we have proposed to particular circumstances should always follow confirmation of the ratings by field work. For instance, identi- fying land for preservation or for mitigation of development should always include an assess- ment on the ground. There is no substitute for direct field studies in particular cases. The ratings we propose can help planners make initial decisions about the value of land for wildlife, but these decisions always need confir- mation in specific cases. Artificial barriers affect the movement of wildlife. Our ratings do not take account of every influence on the suitability of forests for native wildlife. An example of a factor not included in these ratings is the presence nearby of an absolute barrier to movements of animals. Barriers such as fenced and heavily traveled high- ways, railroad tracks, or causeways lined with riprap can completely block some animals' move- ments. A large mature forest nearby would make little difference to a dispersing Box Turtle if it lay on the far side of a major highway. The Contextual Ratings presented here do not take these barriers into consideration. As new information becomes available, it will allow development of better ratings in the future. Even so, to assure the continued presence of a full range of native wildlife, we must not ignore the special requirements of each species. County boundaries affect wildlife ratings. As already mentioned, the Contextual Ratings of tracts near the edge of the County are too low because we currently lack maps of forests in adjacent counties. For instance, the Mason Farm Biological Reserve in the southeastern corner of Orange County would have higher Contextual and Total Ratings if we could include the influence of the extensive forests 18 along the floodplain of Morgan Creek in Durham and Chatham Counties. Also the presence of flood - plains, which are often rich wildlife habitats, are not included in our ratings. The artificiality of political boundaries for wildlife can only be resolved by a regional effort. Regional planning would improve our understand- ing of Orange County as a Landscape with Wildlife. Wildlife ratings depend on the arrangement of forests. Because the Total Rating for each tract of land depends in part on the features of neighbor- ing tracts, the sum of the Total Ratings over any large area inevitably depends on the arrangement of tracts. In this respect, wildlife values calculated from our Total Ratings are like real estate proper- ty values. Both depend on intrinsic and contex- tual features of properties, and both consequent- ly depend on the arrangement of properties. OTHERVALUES FOR FOREST The forests which once covered most of Orange County, and still cover nearly a third, have other advantages as well. They provide important benefits for water quality. Forests behave both like sponges and like filters. By absorbing rainfall and releasing it slowly into streams, they dampen floods and droughts. By removing most pollutants and silt from water flowing into streams, the soils of forests provide us with clean water. Forests also provide much of the natural appeal of the landscapes of Orange County. Forests on rolling hills are what make the land- scapes of the Piedmont distinctive. We have focused here on the importance of forests for native wildlife. To protect our wildlife we must protect our forests, but if we protect our forests we will have protected much more as well.