20211749 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20211220

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
Cameron Ingram, Executive Director

Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]
December 20, 2021

Mr. David Brown
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006

SUBJECT: Stone Scour Apron at Waterdance Bridge
West Fork Tuckasegee River, Jackson County

Dear Mr. Brown:

Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to impact 80 ft of the West Fork of the Tuckasegee River in Jackson 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).

There are wild Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout in the project vicinity, and project activites
should be avoided between October 15 and April 15 to minimize impacts to wild trout
reproduction.

The application proposes to replace stone scour aprons at the foot of two bridge abutments. A
stone diversion structure possibly backed with a turbidity curtain would be used to divert flows
from the work area. Work would be done at low flows.

We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to the aquatic community:
1. Work should be completed outside the trout moratorium period of October 15 to April 15 in
order to minimize impacts to wild trout reproduction.
2. 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.
3. 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.
Stone Apron at Waterdance Bridge Page 2 December 20, 2021
W Fk Tuckasegee, Jackson County
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: Kaylie Yankura, NC Division of Water Resources
Terry Allen, TE Allen Engineering