20150941 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20151005

E North Carolina Wildlife Resources C_ ommission IQ
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
October 5, 2015
Mr. David Brown
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801 -5006
SUBJECT: Lake Pointe Landing Pond Dredging
Cherry Branch, Henderson County
Dear Mr. Brown
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application dredge sediment from a pond on Cherry Branch in Henderson County. Our
comments on this application are offered for your consideration under provisions of the Clean
Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. 466 et. seq.) and Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401,
as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661- 667d).
Project activities should not impact wild trout and do not need to be avoided during the trout
moratorium. However, the pond is just upstream of a state listed mussel, the Creeper (Strophitus
undulatus, NC Threatened) and the rare Southern Blotched Chub (Erimystax insignis eristigma,
US Federal Species of Concern, NC Significantly Rare). It is extremely important to minimize
any sediment loss from the project in order to protect these rare animals.
The landowner lowered the lake approximately 6 weeks ago, and Cherry Branch flows through
the lowered impoundment. The application proposes to dredge about one -third of the pond's
area, isolating the area from the stream with sediment tubes. The dredged sediment may be
dewatered on the upstream south slope of the lake and surrounded by silt fence; the sediment will
be trucked off site for permanent disposal.
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to fish and wildlife:
1. Vigilant sediment and erosion control is essential in order to minimize sediment impacts to
downstream waters. Particular care should be used with sediment and erosion control during
site preparation, construction, and clean up.
2. Any erosion control matting used be free of nylon mesh; nylon mesh netting frequently
entangles wildlife and is slow to degrade resulting in a hazard that may last for years.
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699 -1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Lake Pointe Landing Pond Dredging Page 2 October 5, 2015
Cherry Branch, Henderson County
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at
(828) 558 -6011 if you have any questions about these comments or need further assistance.
Sincerely,
Andrea Leslie
Mountain Region Coordinator, Habitat Conservation Program
cc: Garrett Edens, Incompliance
Rita Hood, Highland Investors Limited Partnership
Andrew Moore, NC Division of Water Resources