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Home My WebLink About20190157 Ver3_Perry Hill II Site Walk Meeting MinutesWILDLANDS ENGINEERING MEETING MINUTES DWR Monitoring Year 4 Site Visit Meeting: Perry Hill II Mitigation Bank Parcel Neuse River Basin (Within the Falls Lake Watershed) DWR# 2019-0157v3 Date: April 23, 2024 Location: 2221 Frank Perry Road, Smithfield, NC Attendees Andrew Friedman -Herring, Division of Water Resources Kaitlyn Hogarth, Wildlands Engineering, Inc Tasha King, Wildlands Engineering, Inc Neil Curtis, Wildlands Engineering, Inc Overview Representatives of Wildlands Engineering, Inc. (Wildlands) met with representatives of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources (DWR) to perform a Monitoring Year 4 site visit. During the visit, areas that were noted by DWR following their review of the Monitoring Year 3 report as exhibiting comparatively lower stem height and potentially sparse woody vegetation were assessed. These observations were based on DWR's review of a combination of vegetation plot data and drone photographs. The easement area surrounding EC3, which includes vegetation plots 10 and 11, was observed. It was noted that stem density appeared to be meeting criteria. Fescue sp. remains dense in some areas along EC3. Survival rates remain high despite competition and several desirable volunteer stems were observed. Wildlands and DWR discussed ring spray treatments performed in April 2023 and agreed that it might be advisable for ring sprays to be performed again along EC3. Many ring sprays from 2023 are still visible and continuing to suppress competing herbaceous vegetation, therefore Wildlands does not intend to perform ring sprays in 2024. Wildlands will apply targeted soil amendments around the base of shorter trees in 2024. Stem height and herbaceous competition will then be assessed in the spring of 2025 and additional ring sprays will be performed on shorter stems if necessary. • The area surrounding vegetation plot 9 was observed due to concerns over stems having slightly lower heights than the remainder of recorded stems. DWR noted that the plot was meeting density criteria and that heights within the plot are somewhat unrepresentative of the surrounding area's stem heights. DWR did not note concerns regarding this area. • DWR and Wildlands looked at the easement area around UT1 and noted that there was adequate density and stems were tall. Dense herbaceous vegetation was seen between vegetation plot 4 and the upstream crossing. DWR had concerns about the herbaceous vegetation out -competing desirable woody vegetation. DWR and Wildlands discussed ring sprays performed in April 2023 and agreed that additional management should performed. Vegetation around the base of shorter stems will be mowed and treated with mechanical and chemical means in 2024. Additionally, localized soil amendments applied around the base of shorter stems will also be done in 2024 to aid height growth. • Adaptive management actions performed to increase stem height and reduce competing herbaceous vegetation will be included within the Monitoring Year 4 report, as well as an update on tree performance within the areas described above.