20200344 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20200324

ltl North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 0
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
March 24, 2020
Ms. Amanda Fuemmeler
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Smith Mill Creek Restoration
Smith Mill Creek, UTs, and wetland, Buncombe County
Dear Ms. Fuemmeler:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to restore 1,849 ft of Smith Mill Creek and two unnamed tributaries (UTs) and
enhance 0.29 acre of wetland in Buncombe 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.
The application proposes to stabilize eroding reaches of stream with bank sloping and floodplain
bench construction, native riparian planting, and instream structures including constructed riffles,
log and rock vanes, brush toe, and stone protection on some areas of bank. One tributary will be
daylighted. The wetland onsite is dominated by Japanese Knotweed, and this will be removed
from the site; native wetland seed and plants will be installed.
The drainage area of Smith Mill Creek is approximately 4 mi2. Work will be done both off-line
and on-line. Where on-line work is done, flows will be diverted away from work areas, partial
flows pumped around work areas, and/or turbid flows in work areas pumped through a silt bag.
We are supportive of this project, as it should address existing channel instability and invasive
species on -site. We appreciate the extensive native species list in the plan set.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Smith Mill Creek Restoration Page 2 March 24, 2020
Smith Mill Cr, Buncombe County
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to the aquatic community:
1. In -channel work should be accomplished as quickly as possible and vigilance used in
sediment and erosion control during site preparation, construction, and clean up. Disturbed
areas should be seeded, mulched and/or matted as soon as possible, preferably at the end of
each work day.
2. Any erosion control matting used should be free of nylon or plastic mesh, as this type of
mesh netting frequently entangles wildlife and is slow to degrade, resulting in a hazard that
may last for years.
3. Care should be taken to preserve as many existing native trees and shrubs as possible.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at
[phone] if you have any questions about these comments.
Sincerely,
Andrea Leslie
Mountain Region Coordinator, Habitat Conservation Program
ec: Jason Hessler, Wildlands Engineering
Andrew Moore, NC Division of Water Resources