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HARRISBURG AREA LAND USE PLAN <br />Agriculture Initiatives <br />Cabarrus County is taking part in a local food initiative. The county is <br />partnering with NC State University's Center for Environmental Farming <br />Systems. This movement is underway in North Carolina to make <br />locating and buying locally produced foods easier for consumers and <br />those in the food industry. The overall goal is to build a local food <br />system in North Carolina that will supply the majority of local food <br />needs, to provide more access to fresh foods and to increase the safety <br />of our foods. The effort also can protect open space, decrease the use <br />of fossil fuels and protect our environment by relying less on food <br />shipped here from across the country. <br />Cabarrus County and the NC Cooperative Extension Cabarrus Center <br />partnered in the development of the Elma C. Lomax Incubator Farm <br />Park off Atando Road in Concord. This incubator farm works much like <br />a business incubator. Individuals interested in starting a business as <br />farmer can enroll in the program which provides classroom instruction <br />on the business of farming in Cabarrus County as well as hands -on <br />experience on the farm. Participants in the program develop and <br />manage their own agriculture business while receiving guidance from <br />seasoned farmers. The incubator farm supports local farming while <br />encouraging a new generation of farmers to ensure quality local food <br />sources flourish in Cabarrus County. <br />Plant and Wildlife Habitat <br />The predominant natural communities are Dry to Mesic Oak - Hickory Forests and <br />Mesic Mixed Hardwood Forests. Notable natural communities in the county include <br />Basic Mesic Forest (Piedmont Subtype), Granitic Flatrock and Depression Swamp <br />Forest. Rare species in the county include Schweinitz's Sunflower (Helianthus <br />schweinitzii), Small's Portulaca (Portulaca smallii), crested coralroot (Hexalectris <br />spicata), Carolina creekshell (Villosa vaughaniana) and Carolina darter (Etheostoma <br />Collis). <br />A review of the Significant Natural Heritage Areas Inventory, which contains <br />mapped sites where threatened or endangered plants or animals —or their <br />habitats— are found, was conducted for the study area. A total of four sites were <br />identified within the vicinity of the study area: <br />Back Creek Gabbro Hill - small knoll of gabbro, covered with boulders that <br />support a mature Basic Oak - Hickory Forest (Mafic Variant) with a number of <br />basic indicator species. The rare crested coralroot (Hexalectris spicata) <br />occurs here. This site is privately owned. <br />Reedy Creek Knoll and Beaver Pond - includes the top and north slope of a <br />low knoll which is underlain by gabbro. A fair quality Basic Mesic Forest <br />(Piedmont Subtype) contains southern sugar maple, mockernut and <br />shagbark hickories, and swamp chestnut and Shumark oaks, among others. <br />The understory contains painted buckeye, sugarberry, and southern sugar <br />PART II: EXISTING CONDITIONS <br />AUGUST 010 <br />Attac ment number 1 <br />G -1 Page 334 <br />