20230990 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20230814

® North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Cameron Ingram, Executive Director
August 14, 2023
Mr. Mitchell Anderson
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Hamilton, Lynch, et al Tract Ashworth Creek
Ashworth Creek, Reed Branch, and UTs, Buncombe County
Dear Mr. Anderson:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to restore 3,790 ft of Ashworth Creek, two unnamed tributaries (UTs) to Ashworth
Creek, and Reed Branch in Buncombe 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).
Project activities should not impact wild trout, and a trout moratorium is not needed for the
project.
The project proposes to stabilize eroding reaches of stream by installing in -stream structures
including constructed riffles and log and boulder j-hooks, log vanes, installing toewood
protection, grading stream banks, and planting a native riparian buffer of at least 25 ft in width.
The pattern will be reconfigured to take some meander bends off-line. Work will be done in the
wet, with equipment in -stream in Ashworth Creek; coffer dams of gravel and cobble harvested
from the stream would be used to isolate flows from work areas. Work on the other streams will
be done in the dry.
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to the aquatic community:
1. 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.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Hamilton et al Page 2 August 14, 2023
Ashworth Cr, Reed Br, UTs, Buncombe Co
2. Any erosion control matting used should be free of 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.
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: David Brown, Jennings Environmental
Andrew Moore, NC Division of Water Resources