Orange County’s Lands Legacy Program recently completed two separate conservation projects with the Eno River Association and Triangle Land Conservancy.
In partnership with the Eno River Association, a combined easement project was closed on the Moorefields Foundation property (pictured at right) located just southwest of Hillsborough adjacent to the County’s Seven Mile Creek Natural Area. The easement includes Moorefields, an Orange County Historical Landmark, 50 acres of surrounding active agricultural lands under a jointly held working lands easement, and preservation of a 23-acre area recognized as an extension of the state-listed Seven Mile Creek Natural Heritage Area.
The agreement provides a trail easement for a section of the Mountains to Sea Trail, to be developed via partnership with the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail, which will drive closer the connection to the state-owned Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area and the Town of Hillsborough Riverwalk.
During the same timeframe, Orange County assisted in the funding and now jointly holds a conservation easement with Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC) on Terry Road Farm (pictured below), located on Terry Road in eastern Orange County. This is another combined working lands easement that conserves close to 50 acres with 35 acres of active farmland as well as 15 acres of forested lands. This will provide valuable buffer to the South Fork of the Little River and an adjacent TLC nature preserve, with over 180 acres managed for habitat. This property conserves critical aquatic habitat and is upstream from the City of Durham’s source of drinking water. Durham’s Watershed Protection Program provided the rest of the funding to acquire this conservation easement and permanently protect this land.
“We are so grateful to Orange County and City of Durham for their innovative and continued support of conservation in our region,” said Margaret Sands, TLC Associate Director of Land Protection West. “This private-public partnership and the many others we’ve collaborated on since Lands Legacy began will ensure that Orange County will always have wild and working lands available for its citizens.”