Agenda - 11-18-2008 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment 6.4.4.1 $ 9 £.~{.~.1. HISTORIC DATA, CURRENT DATA, EVALUATION OF TRENDS PREVIC3US INVENTC}RIES_®F THE COUNTY'S NATURAL RES©_URCES Orange County has made concerted efforts to identify all of the significant natural resource lands located within its jurisdiction. In 1986 the Planning Department produced an initial inventory of sites having biological and geological significance in the unincorporated areas of the County. That effort was followed up in 1988 by the Inventory of Natural Areas and Wildlife Habitat for Orange County, NC (Sather and Hall) with assistance from the Triangle Land Conservancy. Orange County's inventory of natural areas (updated 2004) identifies 53 natural areas (or "natural heritage sites") that are either unique to Orange County or are exemplary of the natural ecosystems found in the County and the surrounding region. The areas total over 10,000 acres and individual sites range in size from four acres to 892 acres. Many sites provide habitats for rare or unusual plant and animal species. Collectively, they represent the natural diversity of the County, from dry upland ridges to river bluffs and bottomland forests. Three of Orange County's natural heritage sitesa~ea~ are considered to be of national significance because of the presence of federally listed threatened or endangered species. They are the Eno River aquatic habitat, University Lake aquatic habitat, and an area known as Meadow Flats. Ten other sites are considered to be of state significance. The other sites are significant at a regional or county level. In addition to the 53 individual sites, the inventory identifies seven larger areas of significance referred to as macrosites. A map of the natural heritage sites~eas and macrosites in the county is provided in Appendix H. A plan for protecting key segments of the New Hope Creek corridor was developed in 1991 for the governing boards of Durham, Chapel Hill, Durham County and Orange County. The New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan recommended the permanent protection of the river corridor for wildlife habitat and low-impact recreation. The Orange County part of the plan extends from Erwin Road northwest to Mt. Sinai Road near Blackwood Station, and is comprised largely of Duke Forest lands. The plan also recognized the importance of protecting New Hope Creek headwaters upstream of the plan limits. The Landscape with Wildlife reports (1997 & 1999) identified the remaining prime forests in Orange County. Prime forests were defined as large areas (>40 acres) comprised of hardwood and mixed hardwood-pine forests. The project used a GIS-based rating system to identify those areas of a size and character most suitable for habitat used by native wildlife, and showed changes in forest cover over time. In 2002 the Triangle GreenPrint identified important resource lands across the six-county Triangle region. The GreenPrint presents the "essential green infrastructure" (e.g., natural areas, prime farm and forestland, and important watershed lands, z'tl~-suggestse~ ways to protect those lands by various means, and tracks ongoin land protection efforts