20150229 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20150313

L North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 0
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
March 13, 2015
Mr. David Brown
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801 -5006
SUBJECT: Gash Creek Restoration Project
Gash Creek and UTs, Henderson County
Dear Mr. Brown:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission ( NCWRC) reviewed an
application to stabilize 1440 ft of channel in Gash Creek and unnamed tributaries (UTs) on a golf
course in Henderson County. I attended an on -site meeting on March 10, 2015. 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).
The site is highly constrained by a golf cart path, and the design addresses channel instability
with a combination of bank sloping, brush mattresses, geolifts, and live stakes. NCWRC
supports the bioengineering approach to bank stabilization proposed in this application; however,
without restoration of woody riparian vegetation beyond the channel, ecological uplift will be
limited and long -term stability of the project uncertain.
This project should not affect trout and the activities do not need to be avoided during the trout
spawning moratorium. We have the following recommendations for the project in order to
minimize aquatic impacts:
1. Livestakes should be installed along the entire project reach, not only at brush mattress and
geolift locations.
2. Where intensive bank work is performed, efforts should be made to ensure that sediment
does not enter the stream. Options include isolating the work area with sand bags or a coffer
dam.
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699 -1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Gash Creek Restoration Project Page 2 March 13, 2015
Henderson County
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project. Please contact me at
(828) 400 -4223 if you have any questions about these comments or need further assistance.
Sincerely,
Andrea Leslie
Mountain Region Coordinator, Habitat Conservation Program
ec: Tim Rice, WNC Resort Properties
Clement Riddle, C1earWater Environmental
Andrew Bick, Confluence Engineering
Zan Price, NC Division of Water Resources