20171157 Ver 1_ShakeRag_IRT Walk_MY4_2023-06-22

MEETING NOTES

MEETING: MY4 IRT Site Walk
SHAKE RAG Mitigation Site
French Broad 06010105; Madison County, NC
DEQ Contract No. 7190
DMS Project No. 100018
USACE Action ID: SAW-2017-01570
DWR Project #: 2017-1157v1
Wildlands Project No. 005-02164

DATE: On-site Meeting: Thursday, June 22, 2023
Meeting Notes Distributed: Wednesday, June 28, 2023

LOCATION: Shake Rag Rd
Mars Hill, NC

Attendees
Steve Kichefski, USACE
Erin Davis, USACE
Andrea Leslie, NCWRC
Mac Haupt, DWR
Maria Polizzi, DWR
Paul Wiesner, DMS
Harry Tsomides, DMS
Matthew Reid, DMS
Jake McLean, Wildlands
Joe Lovenshimer, Wildlands
Mimi Caddell, Wildlands

Meeting Notes
The meeting began around 1pm. Maps and a brief overview of the project were presented by Wildlands and
DMS at the parking area along the farm road near the downstream culvert crossing on Shake Rag Branch. From
there, the group proceeded to walk the site with the goal to see representative portions of the project.
1. Paul asked Wildlands to describe any concerns they have about the project. Wildlands responded that
though the site has demonstrated good stem density, the tree height has lagged for which the main
cause appears to be deer browse and some competition with herbaceous vegetation. Joe described
actions that the Wildlands stewardship team has taken to boost growth and give the stems a
competitive advantage by adding soil amendments and repellex tablets, and conducting ring sprays in
areas of dense tall fescue. Jake also asserted that there were some lessons learned in regard to
managing pasture grasses during construction that has been improved upon for newer projects.
2. Another concern that was discussed was the encroachments that have occurred along the unfenced
portions of the lower conservation easement boundary. Wildlands confirmed that the mowing
encroachments documented in the MY3 (2022) monitoring report have been resolved by adding posts
and communicating with the landowner. Jake and Matthew described additional encroachments that
were first observed in January 2023 due to landowner waterline activities that caused some disturbance
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MY4 IRT Site Walk
of the vegetation within the portion of the UT4 easement adjacent to the farm road. Joe described
actions taken to resolve the new encroachments which included reseeding and replanting container
trees in those areas. The waterline, an overflow line from an upslope spring box, was redirected into the
adjacent easement break near the culvert crossing (outside of the CE). Wildlands has had several
successful discussions with the landowner to emphasize the importance of not disturbing any part of the
conservation easement. Mimi confirmed that this will be documented in the MY4 (2023) monitoring
report.
3. The group then walked to the UT4 crossing to observe where the new encroachments occurred and
view the improvement in vegetation.
4. Continuing up the valley along the UT4, IRT members observed several examples of successful ring
sprays with no collateral damage to the planted stems. It was noted that though some of the planted
stems are small, they are healthy and showing signs of vigorous new growth this year.
5. The group walked up to the jurisdictional start of UT4 where baseflow was observed. IRT members
noted some discontinuous flow under larger rock structures, but the stream was not exhibiting stability
issues. Mac asked if the stream was monitored for flow. Mimi responded that since it is classified as
perennial, there was no required monitoring for continuous flow and that there is a gage located
downstream used to document bankfull events.
6. The group then walked back towards the lower Shake Rag Branch crossing and up the main stem’s valley
to the UT3 confluence. On the way, the group noted liking the large culverts and also the wetland area
in the vicinity of UT8. Jake described the repairs that occurred in April 2022 to address several localized
instances of dislodged, piping structures and shifted riffle material. The repairs were observed to be
functioning with some flow going under a few structures. IRT members asked about reasons for the
damage. Wildlands described that large storms and tropical depressions that had come through the
region during MY1 and MY2. Jake added that the substrate material size class used during construction
that was harvested on site was variable and sometimes lacked mid-range size classes that may have
aided in embedding the cascade riffle structures and that it could have been helpful to import material
during construction.
7. Continuing up UT3, improvements in herbaceous coverage were observed near VP2. Joe described
stewardship efforts which consisted of reseeding with a cover crop mixes for the last three seasons and
spraying the area with compost tea beginning this year.
8. IRT members expressed interest in seeing a representative example of a steep headwater stream where
no restoration work was done. The group decided to walk up to the upper reaches of Shake Rag Branch
to view a reference condition for the site where seasonal flow conditions could be observed. Andrea
brought up the topic of aquatic organism passage and whether some discontinuity of flow is a habitat
issue for these headwater systems. Steve added that there is difficulty in determining the best design
approach depending on the slope and drainage area for first order streams. Jake described some lessons
learned working on steep headwater tributaries to utilize in the future such as limiting the number of
pools and importing material with a better size class variety.
9. Walking back down Shake Rag Branch Reach 2, Wildlands noted the successful treatment of previously
dense pockets of invasive species including tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) and multiflora rose
(Rosa multiflora).
10. The group walked back to the parking area and circled up to summarize the main discussion points
during the site walk.
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MY4 IRT Site Walk
a. Steve was overall pleased with the site and though the low seasonal flow resulting in seeping
under steep structure drops may be a habitat issue, it does not seem to be a stability issue. He
indicated that he did not see a need to require any intervention scheme. (As a side note,
Wildlands does do some minor handwork when piping issues are identified and thought to be
due to construction related issues and not just low summertime flows).
b. Erin requested that Wildlands be sure to document all the management actions done to address
low stem heights in monitoring reports and was pleased with the progress of efforts to address
prior conservation easement encroachments.
c. Paul requested that Wildlands continue to document encroachment issues and keep a log of
communications with the landowner regarding easement compliance discussions. This will allow
for an easier transfer to DEQ stewardship when the history of the site is well documented. Paul
also noted that it is preferable for these communications to remain internal between Wildlands
and the landowner before needing to involve DMS.
d. Andrea had left and was not present for summary discussion.
The meeting concluded at 3:30 PM.

All Attendees listed have been copied by email. These meeting minutes were prepared by Mimi Caddell and
reviewed by Jake McLean and Joe Lovenshimer on June 23, 2023, and represent the authors’ interpretation of
events.