KirsteinRdNRCS-EQIP_GarrenCr_Buncombe_NCWRCComments

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]
March 15, 2024

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

SUBJECT: Kirstein Road NRCS-EQIP
Garren Creek, Buncombe County

Dear Mr. Anderson:

Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to stabilize 500 ft of Garren Creek 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).

Wild trout reproduction should not be impacted by project activities, and a trout moratorium is
not needed.

The proposed work involves bank grading, installing three boulder j-hooks and a stone toe, and
planting a 35-ft riparian buffer.

We offer the following additional recommendations to minimize impacts to fish and wildlife
resources:
1. 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.
2. Any erosion control matting used should be free of plastic or nylon mesh, as this type of
mesh netting frequently entangles wildlife and is slow to degrade, resulting in a hazard that
may last for years.
3. Unless Sycamore and River Birch are found on the site or just upstream or downstream, they
should be removed from the planting plan, as they are typically associated with lower
elevation streams and larger floodplains. We suggest substituting these with Sweet Birch,
Kirstein Road NRCS-EQIP Page 2 March 15, 2024
Garren Cr, Buncombe County
Musclewood, or other more suitable species. In addition, we recommend against using Black
Walnut due to its allelopathic properties.

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: Morgan Harris, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Joey Winston, NC Division of Water Resources