20200851 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20200716

n North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 0
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
July 16, 2020
Ms. Amanda Fuemmeler
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Lansing Park Accessible Fishing Pier Bank Stabilization
Big Horse Creek, Ashe County
Dear Ms. Fuemmeler:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to stabilize erosion around a fishing platform, 68 ft of Big Horse Creek in Ashe
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).
Wild trout reproduction should not be impacted by the project, and a trout moratorium is not
needed. This portion of the river is recognized by the NC Natural Heritage Program as the North
Fork New River Aquatic Habitat, rated Very High for the richness of rare species it contains.
Four rare fish are found in Big Horse Creek in the vicinity of the project —Kanawha Minnow
[Phenacobius teretelus, US Federal Species of Concern (FSC), NC Special Concern (SC)],
Kanawha Rosyface Shiner [Notropis sp., NC Significantly Rare (SR)], Kanawha Darter
(Etheostoma kanawhae, NC SR), and Tonguetied Minnow (Exoglossum laurae, NC SR) —as
well as Seep Mudalia (Leptoxis dilatata, NC SC) and Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus
alleganiensis, US FSC, NC SC). Big Horse Creek is a Delayed Harvest Trout Water.
The application proposes to stabilize erosion at the existing fishing pier with a 30-ft rock sill at
the bank toe and a winged deflector. Work will be done from the bank. We recommend that
flows be diverted around the work area with a coffer dam. The banks will be seeded, matted,
and planted with native riparian seed and livestakes.
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
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Lansing Fishing Pier Page 2 July 16, 2020
Big Horse Creek, Ashe County
areas should be seeded, mulched and/or matted as soon as possible, preferably at the end of
each work day.
2. Special care should be used to reduce the potential for sediment loss from the site.
3. Work should be completed at low flows, and flows diverted around the work area.
4. 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.
5. Contact Lori Williams (lori.williamsgncwildlife.org) least 3 weeks before construction
begins so that the area may be surveyed for hellbenders.
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: Sue Homewood, NC Division of Water Resources
Byron Hamstead, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Jeff Ferguson and Lori Williams, NCWRC