wake nature preserves partnership presentation to the municipal park directors of wake county 2008...
TRANSCRIPT
Wake Nature Preserves Partnership
Presentation to the Municipal Park Directors
Of Wake County
2008 October 2
Who are we?NC Museum of Natural Sciences
NC Natural Heritage Program
NC State University
NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Triangle Land Conservancy
Wake Audubon
Wake County Environmental Services
Wake County Parks, Recreation, & Open Space
Our Mission
The mission of the Wake County Nature Preserves Partnership is to organize and provide resources to identify ecologically valuable, protected open spaces within Wake County and to build capacity for appropriate, long-term stewardship of those areas.
Why are we doing this?
“Dependent groups” and other users of natural areas in parks and open spaces would like them protected.
County and municipalities have invested in these natural areas, but funding for stewardship is limited.
We’d like to help leverage the substantial, untapped resources we have in this region.
Our aim: best practice conservation management
Natural resources inventories
Management plans
Active stewardship
Other Places Doing This
Charlotte / Mecklenberg, NC
Chicago Wilderness Consortium, IL
Cleveland Metro Parks, OH
East Bay Regional Parks, Oakland, CA
Fairfax County Parks, VA
Marin County Parks, CA
What are we doing now?Developing criteria for classifying natural areas.
Piloting our ideas by partnering with Wake County.
Planning database for all Wake County open space.
Developing service-learning connections with NCSU.
Seeking additional partners and volunteers.
Nature Preserves CriteriaExceptional Natural Areas• Natural Heritage Program sites
Outstanding Natural Areas• Natural Heritage landscape core areas• NC Wildlife Action Plan Priority Species Habitat
Natural Areas• Buffer Exceptional & Outstanding Natural Areas• Potential for restoration
Nature Preserves Criteria
For each category …• definition• management priorities• recommendations for appropriate alterations• recommendations for public access
Exceptional Natural Areas
MAP
Exceptional Natural AreasJurisdiction # Parcels Jurisdiction # Parcels
Cary 4 Rolesville 1
Garner 1 Wake County 19
Holly Springs 1 Wake Forest 8
Knightdale 1 Wendell 2
Raleigh 51 Zebulon 2
Exceptional Natural Areas
Many parcels are part of same natural area.
Crabtree Creek Aquatic Habitat•15 Raleigh parcels
Upper Neuse River Floodplain•17 Raleigh parcels•8 Wake Forest parcels
Demonstration Project: Marks Creek
Establish an example process for later efforts to emulate or learn from.
Started inventory in February, 2008.
Goal is a draft management plan in late 2009.
Chris Snow will talk about this.
People we’d like to involvePeople we’d like to involve
You and your staffs.
Volunteers and interns.
NCSU students and faculty.
What are we asking of you?
Open a conversation.
What do you think of this idea?
How can we work together?
What would you like to see or do next?
Contact Information
George Hess :: NC State University
919.515.7437 :: [email protected]
Gary Blank :: NC State University
919.515.7566 :: [email protected]
Chris Snow :: Wake County Parks, Recreation, & Open Space
919.856.6677 :: [email protected]
Jamie Ramsey :: Wake Open Space & Parks Advisory Committee
919.821.9059 :: [email protected]