Natural and Cultural Resources
The Natural and Cultural Resources Division coordinates efforts toward environmental protection and resource conservation, including:
- Natural Resources (air/climate, land, and water)
- Cultural Resources (farmland, historic and archaeological)
Division staff works on a variety of issues and projects to conserve lands that possess some combination of resources (or conservation values) that are highly important to Orange County residents. Some of those efforts are in partnership with other County departments, volunteer advisory boards, town government, non-government organizations, and interested landowners—often to implement resource conservation objectives in the Orange County Comprehensive Plan.
The Division also provides staff support for the following volunteer citizen boards that advise the Orange County Board of Commissioners: Commission for the Environment, Agricultural Preservation Board, and Historic Preservation Commission. The Division also helps produce the State of Environment reports for Orange County.
Technical assistance on many of the following topics is available upon request or through one of the specific programs listed below.
Air Quality
- Greenhouse Gas Inventory
- Regional Air Quality Forecast
Energy Conservation
- Orange County Energy Conservation Policy
- Orange County Vehicle Fuel Conservation Policy
- Orange County’s goal of Environmental Responsibility in County Government
Farmland Preservation
- Informational Guide for Orange County Farmers
- Voluntary Agricultural Districts
- Voluntary Agricultural District Program Application
- Farmland Protection Plan (adopted 2009)
- Maps
Historic Preservation
- Local Landmark program
- Design Standards for Local Landmarks
- Inventory of historic structures
- Scenic road corridors
- Maps
Land Conservation
- Lands Legacy program
- Conservation easements
- Future Parks and Preserves
- Mountains to Sea Trail
- Natural heritage sites
- Nature preserves
- Wildlife corridors
- Soil and Water Conservation
- Maps
Water Resources
- H2Orange – current information on surface and ground water in Orange County
- Orange Well Net – groundwater observation well network information
- Orange County Water Conservation Policy
- Maps