20140881 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20140924

9 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
August 26`h, 2014
Ms. Tasha Alexander
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801 -5006
SUBJECT: WRC Comments on Horton Branch Trail Permit Application, Horton Branch, Watauga
County
Dear Ms. Alexander:
Representatives of Dugger Valley Inv. Group LLC requested a permit to install five culverts and stabilize
sections of streambank along Horton Branch, Watauga County, NC. Comments from the NCWRC 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).
We do not object to this permit application. Staff from the NCWRC visited the project location on 22
August 2014 and sampled the stream and found some age -o Brown Trout in low numbers. Although wild
trout were found, the opinion of biological staff is that the reduction in long -term sedimentation would be
a significant improvement over the currently eroding system and that the completion of that work should
be done expeditiously. As such, we do not request the trout spawning moratorium be required as a
condition of this permit.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this regulatory action. Please contact me at
(828) 659 -8684 ext. 221 if you have any questions about these comments or need further assistance.
Sincerely,
Doug Besler
Mountain Region Fishery Supervisor
ec: Mr. John Vilas, McGill Associates, PA
Ms. Andrea Leslie, NCWRC
Mr. Kin Hodges, NCWRC
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699 -1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]