Wake Nature Preserves Partnership

Presentation to the Mayors

of Wake County Municipalities

2008 March 17

Who are we?NC Museum of Natural Sciences

NC Natural Heritage Program

NC State University

NC Wildlife Resources Commission

Triangle Land Conservancy

Wake Audubon Society

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.

You have invested in these natural areas, but funding for stewardship always seems limited.

We’d like to help you leverage the substantial, untapped resources we have in this region.

Examples

Hemlock Bluffs State Natural Area (Cary) – managed to conserve a unique stand of eastern hemlock

Lake Johnson (Raleigh) – mature longleaf pine, requires burning or other management to persist

Marks Creek (Eastern Wake) – Michaux’s sumac, a rare plant, requires burning to persist

Mitchell Mill State Natural Area (Eastern Wake) – rock outcrops and associated plant life being overrun by invasive plants

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?Piloting our ideas by partnering with Wake County.

Planning to establish a database for all Wake County open space sites.

Developing service-learning connections with NCSU courses.

Seeking additional partners and volunteers.

Demonstration Project: Marks Creek

Establish an example process for later efforts to emulate or learn from.

Started inventory this month.

Goal is a draft management plan in late 2009.

People we’d like to involvePeople we’d like to involve

Interns with agencies and non-profit groups.

Volunteers from the community.

NCSU students and faculty through graduate research and service-learning projects.

What is Service-learning?

A collaborative teaching and learning strategy designed to promote academic enhancement, personal growth, and civic engagement.

The ongoing Raleigh Urban Forest Assessment is an example of such a project.

What are we asking of you?

We’d like to work with your staffs.

Data sharing – countywide database of natural resource and natural heritage information.

Help us increase public awareness and appreciation of these natural areas.

Why would you do this?

Proactively protect your investment in open spaces.

Build valuable partnerships to leverage resources.

Public support for passive, nature-based recreation is high

•Bonds to purchase open space have been successful

•Surveys (local and regional) – City of Raleigh (2002) – Wake County (2006)

– SE Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (2005)

What’s next?

Communication

Collaboration

Your Support

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.

Contact Information

George Hess :: NC State University

919.515.7437 :: george_hess@ncsu.edu

Gary Blank :: NC State University

919.515.7566 :: gary_blank@ncsu.edu

Chris Snow :: Wake County Parks, Recreation, & Open Space

919.856.6677 :: csnow@co.wake.nc.us

Jamie Ramsey :: Wake Open Space & Parks Advisory Committee

919.821.9059 :: cadra4@aol.com