20200752 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20200630

9 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
June 30, 2020
Ms. Brandee Boggs
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: UT Little Fisher River Restoration
UTs to Little Fisher River, Surry County
Dear Ms. Boggs:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to restore 3,659 ft of unnamed tributaries (UTs) to the Fisher River in Surry County.
In addition, 0.006 acre of wetland would be permanently impacted. 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).
Wild trout reproduction should not be impacted by the project, and a trout moratorium is not
needed.
The application proposes to stabilize eroding and reaches of stream with a various instream
structures, including rock and log vanes, woody riffles, toewood with geolifts, log roller, and
more. Banks will be graded, a floodplain bench constructed, and according to Jake Byers with
Environmental Planning and Restoration, a native riparian buffer of approximately 30 ft will be
planted. Work will be done in the dry.
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 dM.
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.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

UTs to Little Fisher R Restoration Page 2 June 30, 2020
UTs to L. Fisher, Surry County
3. As the stream runs through a forested corridor, efforts should be made to minimize
disturbance of native woody vegetation.
4. Replace River Birch with another species (e.g., Sweet Birch), as River Birch is typically only
found in large river floodplains.
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: Jake Byers, EP&R
Sue Homewood, NC Division of Water Resources