20210536 Ver 1_Tobacco Road Construction Planting Complete Letter_Combined_20240426

3600 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 100
Raleigh, NC 27612

Corporate Headquarters
6575 West Loop South, Suite 300
Houston, TX 77401
Main: 713.520.5400

res.us

April 26, 2024 Ms. Katie Merritt NCDEQ – Division of Water Resources 512 N. Salisbury Street, Archdale Building 9th Floor Raleigh, NC 27620 RE: Tobacco Road Mitigation Project (DWR #: 2021-0536 v1): All Riparian Earthwork &
Mitigation Activities Completed, Easement Boundaries Adequately Marked, All
Applicable Permits Obtained.

Ms. Merritt,

Environmental Banc & Exchange, LLC (“EBX”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Resource
Environmental Solutions (“RES”) is pleased to inform you that riparian vegetation planting and
associated monitoring devices installation have been completed at the Tobacco Road Mitigation
Project. Monitoring devices include 12 vegetation plots in the riparian restoration areas.

To support your review and determination of whether a site visit can be scheduled, the following
are included with this letter:
- Short summary of activities completed as required per the approved Plan;
- Figures representing all riparian restoration, riparian enhancement, and riparian preservation activities where applicable;
- Figures representing location of all monitoring plots installed;
- Detailed planting plan – including type of species planted, density of species planted, and any modifications to the planting plan from what was approved in the Plan;
- Photos of the site, including examples of vegetation plots;
- Description of how the conservation easement boundaries are to be marked once the
completion of fencing is completed;
- Any major changes to the conservation easement boundary or to the amount of Riparian
Buffer Credits or Nutrient Offset Credits from what was proposed in the approved Plan.

Short summary of Activities Completed:
The earthwork of the stream and wetland mitigation project (SAW 2021-00489) is complete as of
April 8, 2024. The only remaining earthwork to be completed are the crossings outside of the
easement.

An initial treatment of invasive species including fescue, privet, multiflora rose, autumn olive, and
tree-of-heaven within the easement was conducted in October-November 2023. Invasives species
will be monitored and treated throughout. All planted areas, including those impacted by stream restoration construction activities, and those elsewhere, were sprayed to kill fescue, ripped, and seeded prior to planting; however, wetlands and other very wet areas did not require ripping. The site was planted with trees on March 27, 2024, and as-built set-up was completed on April 16, 2024. During as-built set-up, 17 planted tree species were recorded, and the plots yielded an average of 725 stems per acre (Tables 1 & 2). There were no changes to the planting plan of bare root species and the planting area and density remained the same as proposed. Vegetation plots had very minor shifts in locations from the Riparian Buffer and Nutrient Offset Mitigation Plan
proposed locations; however, the quantities of plots (12) remained the same as proposed. The
total as-built planted area for the whole project was 25.41 acres that consists of two planting
zones: Zone 1 being 20.78 acres and Zone 2 being 4.63 acres. Additionally, live stakes were planted
along stream restoration reaches and select stream enhancement reaches.

Activities to be completed:
• Fencing is currently being installed in the proposed areas (see enclosed Figure). All
easement corners are set and marked with T-posts and orange flagging while additional
boundary lines are temporarily marked with orange, wooden stakes and pin flags.
• Conservation easement signs depicting the long-term steward, restricted activities, and
contact information will be installed upon completion of the fencing and will be attached
to fence posts at approximate 200-foot intervals. Representative photos showing the fencing and easement signage will be included in the as-built report. No major modifications from the approved Tobacco Road Buffer Mitigation and Nutrient Offset Plan were made during site construction. Likewise, there were no major changes to the conservation easement boundaries. If any deviations are discovered as a result of the as-built work, they will be included in the baseline report that will be submitted to support the release of credits associated with Task 3.
We anticipate a site visit to be required to determine the planting completeness, and that
additional documentation of the easement marking and fencing will be required. We will be in
touch to schedule this with you. An As-built Plan and Baseline Monitoring Report will be submitted
after the onsite construction complete visit with NCDWR is conducted and all site activities and
survey work has been completed.

Thank you,

Matt DeAngelo | Ecologist

Vegetation Plot 4 (April 16, 2024) Vegetation Plot 13 (April 16, 2024)
Fescue spraying (October 27, 2023) Ripping and planting, Vegetation Plot 8 (April 16,
2024)

Invasive Treatment (November 6, 2023)

Live stakes planted along restored stream (April 10,
2024)
Seeded vegetation establishing, Vegetation Plot 5
(April 16, 2024)
Easement Marking (April 16, 2024)

Table 1a. Bare Root Tree Species Planted at Tobacco Road – Detailed By Zone
Planting Zone 1- Piedmont Alluvial/Headwater Stream Forest Acres- 20.78*
Common Name Scientific Name
Wetland
Indicator
Status*
Sub-Canopy
vs Canopy
% Mit Plan
Composition
% As-built
Composition

# Composition
American sycamore Platanus occidentalis FACW Canopy 10 10 1,681
Willow oak Quercus phellos FACW Canopy 10 10 1,804
Swamp chestnut oak Quercus michauxii FACW Canopy 10 10 1,700
Northern red oak Quercus rubra FACU Canopy 10 10 1,700
White oak Quercus alba FACU Canopy 10 10 1,700
River birch Betula nigra FACW Canopy 10 10 1,681
American elm Ulmus americana FACW Canopy 10 10 1,681
Hackberry Celtis laevigata FACW Canopy 5 5 984
Tulip poplar Liriodendron
tulipifera FACU Canopy 5 5 850
Northern spicebush Lindera benzoin FAC Sub-Canopy 10 10 1,700
Ironwood Carpinus caroliniana FAC Sub-Canopy 5 5 850
Persimmon Diospyros virginiana FAC Sub-Canopy 5 5 850
Planting Zone 2- Piedmont Bottomland/Swamp Forest Acres- 4.63*
Common Name Scientific Name
Wetland
Indicator
Status*
Sub-Canopy
vs Canopy
% Mit Plan
Composition
% As-built
Composition

# Composition
Overcup oak Quercus lyrata OBL Canopy 15 15 550
Willow oak Quercus phellos FACW Canopy 15 15 396
American sycamore Platanus occidentalis FACW Canopy 10 10 369
River birch Betula nigra FACW Canopy 10 10 369
American elm Ulmus americana FACW Canopy 10 10 369
Hackberry Celtis laevigata FACW Canopy 10 10 216
Black willow Salix nigra OBL Canopy 5 5 200
Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica FACW Canopy 5 5 200
Possumhaw Ilex decidua FACW Sub-Canopy 10 10 400
Silky dogwood Cornus amomum FACW Sub-canopy 5 5 200
Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis OBL Sub-Canopy 5 5 200
* Represents the as-built total acreage planted at the site including all stream, wetland, buffer, and nutrient credit
areas.

Table 1b. Bare Root Tree Species Planted at Tobacco Road – Overall

Table 2. Vegetation Plot Summary for Tobacco Road
Plot # Planted
Stems/Acre
Volunteer
Stems/Acre
Total
Stems/Acre
Success
Criteria
Met?
Average
Stem Height
(ft)
2 364 0 364 Yes 1.6
3 364 0 364 Yes 1.5
4 850 0 850 Yes 1.3
5 728 0 728 Yes 1.3
6 809 0 809 Yes 1.6
7 567 0 567 Yes 1.3
8 1214 0 1214 Yes 1.3
10 607 0 607 Yes 1.5
11 1214 0 1214 Yes 1.4
12 728 0 728 Yes 1.9
13 728 0 728 Yes 1.2
14 526 0 526 Yes 1.4
Project Avg 725 0 725 Yes 1.4

Tobacco Road Species Totals
Common Name Scientific Name Species Total
River Birch Betula nigra 2,050
American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana 850
Sugarberry Celtis laevigata 1,200
Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis 200
Silky Dogwood Cornus amomum 200
Persimmon Diospyros virginiana 850
Green Ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica 200
Possumhaw Ilex decidua 400
Northern Spicebush Lindera benzoin 1,700
Yellow Poplar Liriodendron tulipifera 850
American Sycamore Platanus occidentalis 2,050
White Oak Quercus alba 1,700
Overcup Oak Quercus lyrata 550
Swamp Chestnut Oak Quercus michauxii 1,700
Willow Oak Quercus phellos 2,200
Northern Red Oak Quercus rubra 1,700
Black Willow Salix nigra 200
American Elm Ulmus americana 2,050
Total 20,650
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Planting and MonitoringDevice Complete Map
Sheet 1
Tobacco Road Mitigation Project
Alamance County, North Carolina
1 in = 150 feet
Restoring a Resilient Earth for a Modern World
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Planting and MonitoringDevice Complete Map
Sheet 2
Tobacco Road Mitigation Project
Alamance County, North Carolina
1 in = 150 feet
Restoring a Resilient Earth for a Modern World
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Planting and MonitoringDevice Complete Map
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Tobacco Road Mitigation Project
Alamance County, North Carolina
1 in = 150 feet
Restoring a Resilient Earth for a Modern World
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Planting and MonitoringDevice Complete Map
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Tobacco Road Mitigation Project
Alamance County, North Carolina
1 in = 150 feet
Restoring a Resilient Earth for a Modern World