Orange County Land Legacy program celebrates 25 years

In April of 2000, the Orange County Board of Commissioners established the Lands Legacy program with the intention to preserve natural lands. The program surpassed 3000 acres of conserved land in December 2024 and will celebrate its 25th anniversary this spring. 

Former Orange County Commissioner Alice Gordon, who spearheaded the program, proposed the Lands Legacy Program in 1998.  

“The reason I proposed it was because one of my overriding goals as a commissioner was to protect the environment,” Gordon said. 

Barry Jacobs, another former Orange County Commissioner, said that the Board was trying to protect significant natural areas, historic sites, watersheds and community resources that had long-term value.

Rich Shaw, former land conservation manager for Orange County, said that this goal was shared by both the county and commissioners. 

“And so I think the interest on the part of the county, and the county commissioners, was to conserve a lot of the most important, fragile lands, both with lands with natural value and cultural value before they're developed into something else,” Shaw said.

Gordon also proposed the foundation of the Environment and Resource Conservation Department in 1998. 

“I started by proposing things like the Water Resources Committee and other things to protect the environment, but then what I realized is that you need to have environmental protection be a separate function of Orange County government,” Gordon said.

The Lands Legacy Program Action plan is adopted every few years by the Board of Commissioners and was most recently adopted last April. 

Its focal areas for the next few years include future parks and public open space and trails, important wildlife habitats, watershed buffer lands and cultural and historic sites of significance.

Lands Conservation Manager Christian Hirni said that four advisory boards that the department seeks input from are the largest drivers of community input on the program’s priorities. These four boards include the Commission for the Environment, the Agricultural Preservation Board, the Parks and Recreation Council and the Historic Preservation Commission.

Hirni also said that the Lands Legacy Program Action Plan drafting is open to public input at board events. 

“You know, most everyone who's interested has an opportunity to at least catch my ear” Hirni said.

Shaw said that the program collaborates with multiple entities, like Land Trust Alliance, UNC, Duke Forest and Orange Water and Sewer Authority. 

Hirni said that today, the priority of the program has shifted from park acquisitions toward the conservation of agricultural lands.

“Protecting private farmland was also a public good not only for the visual beauty in these rural areas, but also having local produce and farm goods available, that they could rely on,” Shaw said.

Shaw said that now, the department is also trying to focus on protecting wildlife corridors. He said that protecting wildlife corridors is important to ensuring mixed diversity on natural lands. 

It is even more important nowadays than it was 25 years ago because of the climate crisis, Gordon said.

"I mean, there has been more emphasis on the climate, I'm sure, in terms of some initiatives, but the basic idea of conserving these resources is what we're going to need for the planet to survive,” Gordon said.

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