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Home My WebLink About20080511 Ver 2_Year 1 Revised Monitoring Report_20131216 First Annual Monitoring Report LaGrange Bank Parcel Greene Environmental Services, LLC Neuse River Umbrella Mitigation Bank DWQ#: 08-0511v2 Year 2013 Submitted to: Katie Merritt NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Water Resources –Water Quality Programs 1650 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1650 Phone: (919) 807-6371; Fax: (919) 8076494 Submitted by:Jeff Becker 1004 Glencastle Way Raleigh, NC 27606 Phone: (919) 215-3899; Fax: (919) 859-0911 First Annual Monitoring Report LaGrange Bank Parcel Greene Environmental Services, LLC Neuse River Umbrella Mitigation Bank DWQ#: 08-0511v2Year 2013 Introduction and Background Greene Environmental Services, LLC (GES) of Snow Hill, North Carolinaadded the LaGrange site to the GES Neuse River Basin Umbrella Mitigation Bank. The LaGrange site (bank parcel) is located at the southwest intersection of NC 903 and Old Jason Road (SR 1501), north of LaGrange, in Lenoir County, North Carolina (Figures1and 2). The latitude/longitude coordinates of the site are approximately 77°44.315 W and 35°20.588N. The purpose of the nutrient mitigation bank is to improve water quality within the Neuse River Basin by reducing nutrient and sediment inputs to the watershed and provide off-site mitigation for development requiring nutrient offsets. The bank parcel is located within the Middle Neuse Watershed (HUC: 03020202). The site drains to Meeting House Branch (Stream Index # 27-72-3), which drains into Bear Creek (Stream Index # 27-72-(0.1)), a major tributary to the Neuse River. According to the NC Division of Water Quality Basinwide Information Management System, Meeting House Branch is classified as C; Sw, NSW. The bank parcel is approximately 3.39acres, including 0.87acres of riparian buffer and 2.52 acres of nutrient offset buffer restoration (Figures 3 and 4).This bank parcel was established under the terms and conditions of the GES Neuse River Basin Umbrella Mitigation Bank made and entered into by Mr. Bobby Ham of Greene Environmental Services, LLC, acting as the Bank Sponsor and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources –Division of Water Quality which was signed by the Division Director on October 3, 2008. The bank parcel was previous agricultural cropland and was planted with character species during March of 2010. During the planting process, Eric Kulz and Lia Gilleski of DWQ visited the site and determined that it was suitable for nutrient offset mitigation. Monitoring and Results for Year 2013 As specified in the LaGrange Bank Parcel Development Package (BPDP), this report represents the first year of vegetative monitoring. The BPDP requires the submission of an annual monitoring report each of five successive years. The LaGrange parcel was initially planted with character trees in 2010 and 2011 at a rate of 413 seedlings per acre (Table 1).Supplemental plantings weredone in 2012and 2013at a rate of 108and 103 seedlings per acre, respectively. Thus prior to the submission of this first annual monitoring report a total of 624seedlingsper acre had been planted on the3.39-acreparcel. In each of the two monitoring plotsin the LaGrange Parcel, tree stemswere recorded by species in October 2013according to Carolina Vegetation Survey sampling protocols.Plot locations are mapped in Figure 5. Vegetation plot photo points were located at the northwestern corner of the plots (Figure 6). During the October 2013monitoring effort, a total of 44 seedlingsrepresentingeighttree species were recorded in the two monitoring plots(Table 2). The total average density was 891trees per acre.Thirtyof the 44trees within the plots were from seedlings planted by GES; thusaverage planted seedling density was 607treesper acre(Table 3).Sixty-eightpercent of the trees were plantedspecies;bald cypress, river birch and black gum accounted for approximately eighty percent planted seedlings with theremainder including sycamore and cherrybark oak (Table 4). Red maple, loblolly pine and swamp chestnut oakbecame established via natural colonization and met the CVS protocol height requirementof 10 cm,minimum (Table 5).Additional seedlings of swamp chestnut oak and black oak (Quercus velutina)were presentinthe monitoring plots butnot recorded since they were less than 10 cm in height; if present andof sufficient height, these and other volunteer species will be recorded in subsequent annual monitoring reports. Persimmon, green ash, yellow poplar, white oak, turkey oak, live oak, and pond cypress were planted on the LaGrange Parcel but were not recorded in the monitoring plots. For total trees as well as planted trees,the 320 trees per acre success criterion was exceeded. Overall Condition, Maintenance and Supplemental Plantings Vegetation establishment and growth has been good at the LaGrange parcel. Growing conditions, e.g, adequate rainfall, length of growing season and fertile soils, have been advantageous since the initial plantings were undertaken. The height of some seedlings, especially river birch, planted in 2010, now exceeds 3 m with diameters (dbh) of 8-10 cm. Other species exhibit slower growth but are performing as expected. Browsing by deer has been moderately problematic for seedlings in exposed areas and especially problematic for green ash seedlings. There has been some evidence of depredation by rabbits and possibly beavers and other rodents. Annual, herbaceous weed growth has been excessive; this would expectedlyresult in above-ground and below-ground competition with planted seedlings. However,the weeds likely afford the seedlings some greater advantage by protecting them from browsing deer. In an effort to control rabbit and rodent populations, two 15-foot tall hawkperches were installed on the site. No remedial or supplemental planting is required for the 2014growing season. The next monitoring effort will be in October 2014. Table 1. LaGrange Tract.Approximate number of seedlings planted 2010, 2011,2012and 2013 on 3.39 acre tractprior to the first annual monitoring effort.Year 2013Annual Report, Greene Environmental Services, LLC. Planted Planted Planted Common April 2013 February/ SpeciesJanuaryTotals NameMarch2010 2012 and 2011 450 Betula nigraRiver birch5050400 Diospyros 25 Persimmon0250 virginiana Fraxinus 200 Green ash00200 pennsylvanica Yellow Liriodendron 20 0200 poplar tulipifera 230 Nyssa sylvaticaBlackgum030200 Platanus 120 Sycamore01200 occidentalis 25 Quercus albaWhite oak0250 25 Turkey oak0250 Quercus laevis Cherrybark 200 00200 oak Quercus pagoda Quercus 45 Live oak0450 virginiana Taxodium 425 Bald cypress10025400 distichum Taxodium Pond cypress20000 ascendes Total Seedlings Planted35036514002115 Average Number Seedlings 103108413624 Planted per Acre 2 Table 2. Stem densityfor all tree speciesin 100 mmonitoring plots at LaGrange Parcel.Year 2013Annual Report, Greene Environmental Services, LLC. Plot LAG-1Plot LAG-2TractAverages Common Species Number Stems Number Stems Number Stems Name Stemsper acreStemsper acreStemsper acre 202 Red maple416262435 Acer rubrum 142 River birch28152023.5 Betula nigra Nyssa 121 Black gum28141623 biflora Loblolly 61 0031211.5 pine Pinus taeda Platanus 81 Sycamore2812812 occidentalis Swamp 20 Quercus chestnut 001400.5 michauxiioak Quercus Cherrybark 40 281001 pagodaoak Bald Taxodium 223 832431215.5 cypress distichum All SpeciesTotals208102497222891 2 Table 3. Stem density for planted tree species in 100 mmonitoring plots at LaGrange Parcel. Year 2013Annual Report, Greene Environmental Services, LLC. Plot LAG-1Plot LAG-2TractAverages Common Species Number Stems Number Stems Number Stems Name Stemsper acreStemsper acreStemsper acre 142 River birch28152023.5 Betula nigra Nyssa 121 Black gum28141623 biflora Platanus 81 Sycamore2812812 occidentalis Cherrybark Quercus 40 281001 oak pagoda Taxodium Bald 223 832431215.5 distichumcypress Planted Species, Total Stems and Stems per 166481456715607 Acre 2 Table 4. Relative density of species in 100 mmonitoring plots in LaGrange Parcel.2013Annual Report, Greene Environmental Services, LLC. Percent of Percent of SpeciesCommon nameTotal Stems Planted Stems by Speciesby Species Acer rubrumRed maple22.7NA Betula nigraRiver birch15.923.3 Black gum13.620.0 Nyssa biflora Loblolly pine6.8NA Pinus taeda Sycamore Platanus 9.113.3 occidentalis Swamp chestnut Quercus 2.3NA oak michauxii Quercus pagodaCherrybark oak4.56.7 Taxodium Bald cypress 25.036.7 distichum Percent of planted stems 68% of Stems are of Planted Species to total stems 2 Table 5. Stem heights for naturally colonizing tree species in 100 mmonitoring plots at LaGrange Parcel.Year 2013Annual Report, Greene Environmental Services, LLC. LAG 1LAG 2 Number of Stem Number of Stem SpeciesCommon Name Stemsheights (cm)Stemsheights (cm) Acer rubrumRed maple23 79 41 84 46 142 46 61 191 64 71 Pinus taedaLoblolly pine 64 003 71 163 Quercus Swamp chestnut 00197 michauxiioak