[External] RE: Great Meadow Mitigation Plan Comment Response

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Jeff,

We have reviewed Wildlands’ response letter for the IRT comments on the draft Great Meadow mitigation plan. The Corps and DWR have a few remaining concerns that need to be resolved prior
to submittal of the final plan. Please take the opportunity to review the comments provided below and let us know if it would be helpful to schedule a meeting to discuss.

DWR comment a. Are two crossings needed on Shard Branch? It seems like access could still be provided with one. Additionally, the northern crossing will impact wetlands which could be
avoided if the crossing was eliminated or moved south where there are no wetlands. (This wetland, BB, scores with a SAM score of Medium).

Wildlands response: The landowner requires the two crossings in the location where the existing crossings are. They are needed and located to provide access to different areas of pasture.

* USACE follow-up comment: Please provide additional information on coordination efforts made with the landowner to reduce the number of crossings on Shard Branch, and please elaborate
on the need for multiple access points (e.g., topographic constraints, landlocked property). Since this is a full restoration reach, the rationale that the crossings are in existing
locations isn’t as applicable as if it were an enhancement reach. Multiple crossings on a single tributary are prone to have adverse effects on a project’s functional uplift due to
fragmentation, as well as potential long-term maintenance and encroachment issues. Recently, the IRT evaluated a project justification for multiple crossings on a single tributary and
determined that one of the crossings was redundant, which resulted in a credit reduction to account for the fragmentation impact.
* DWR follow-up comment: DWR agrees with the USACE comment above. In general, more justification regarding the number and location of crossings would be helpful. DWR Comment m also inquired
about the positioning of southern crossing on Shard branch, which was revised from the draft prospectus location due to the exclusion of the Boy Scout tract from the easement. However,
since the location of this crossing has already been adjusted once, it is unclear why it is not possible to adjust its proposed orientation/positioning now.

DWR comment g. Section 3.3.3 states that the LSS report is included in Appendix 1. I couldn’t find it in the hard copy, or the digital version submitted to Laserfiche. I see a soils
map (Figure 7), which I am assuming is based on the NRCS Soil Survey data, but not a full soils report or even a map with the soil boring locations. Please provide this report and associated
map in the final plan.

Wildlands response: Wildlands originally proposed wetlands mitigation on this site but decided not to move forward with claiming credits for wetlands so that buffer/nutrient offset credits
could be generated. Section 3.3.3 will be revised to better reflect this and will not refer to the LSS report. The LSS report should no longer be needed in the appendix. However, it
was submitted with the prospectus.

* USACE follow-up comment: Please include all supporting documentation in the final plan appendices. The data collected as part of the LSS report is still applicable to the proposed
floodplain connectivity and associated stream functional uplift. It could also be useful information for future reference if there are any vegetative establishment concerns where soils
may be a factor post construction.

USACE comment h. Page 14, Section 6.8 – While Section 4.3 notes that flood modeling is not expected to be required for floodplain compliance, have you considered modeling to evaluate
the risk of hydrologic trespass if/when beavers dam project reaches after site closeout? How susceptible could the open fields along easement boundaries be to flooding if beaver dams
raise water levels above what is calculated for proposed Priority 1 restoration?

Wildlands response: We have not performed any hydraulic modeling for this project. We assume the risk to flooding from beaver dams is similar to other projects with similar site conditions.

* USACE follow-up comment: Due to the current presence of beaver onsite, assuming that the risk of flooding is similar to other projects without modeling or conducting a site-specific
assessment does not sufficiently address our concern about the potential for future hydrologic trespass. As the project approving agency, we need to ensure that potential risks associated
with a project based on existing and proposed conditions have been adequately identified, sufficiently evaluated, and appropriately addressed in the approved plan. Please provide site-specific
data to support your risk assumption concerning beaver related hydrologic trespass.
* DWR follow-up comment: DWR agrees with the USACE that the provided response is insufficient. Additionally, some similar projects in the past have had issues with hydrologic trespass,
which is the reason for IRT concern.

USACE comment i.b. Pages 24-24, Section 7.0, Table 11 - Based on the current conditions and the level of functional uplift proposed for Fisher Branch Reach 2, we support a 4:1 enhancement
ratio.

Wildlands response: The final prospectus indicated a 2.5:1 ratio for this reach. The treatments for this reach will include bank stabilization, cattle exclusion, invasives removal, and
buffer planting. Wildlands will add a random vegetation plot to monitor the success of planted trees in the area where privet is removed.

* USACE follow-up comment: Please note that credit ratios are not approved at the prospectus stage. Stream enhancement reach ratios are evaluated based on the proposed level of work
and associated functional uplift (e.g., full reach planting vs. partial/one-sided reach planting). Please provide a breakdown of the treatments proposed for this reach for IRT review,
including the total length of bank stabilization and percentage of bank stabilization out of the entire reach bank length, and the total area of planting and percentage of planting
out of the entire reach buffer area.
* DWR follow-up comment: DWR supports the request for additional information in order to determine the credit ratio for this reach. It would also be helpful if reach breaks are shown
on the design and planting plans, and that bank stabilization measures are shown on the design plans as well (I did not see any on the plans for this reach).

USACE comment l.a Figure 12 - Several of the fixed veg plots do not appear to be located within designated planting areas based on Sheets 4.2 – 4.9 (two on Fisher Branch, one on Shard
Branch Reach 2, and two on Fox Branch Reach 2), please confirm and update as necessary. Please add a fixed veg plot to Fisher Branch Reach 3.

Wildlands response: After revising the planting zones based on the grading plan and GPS tree line, the number of planted acreage reduced from 26 to 20. The vegetation plots were reduced
from 21 to 16 (10 fixed and 6 random). Vegetation plot numbers and locations will be updated to reflect the accurate planting zones in the final Mit Plan.

* USACE follow-up comment: Please provide a copy of the updated monitoring Figure 12 for us to review the referenced changes.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Thank you,

Erin

Erin B. Davis

Mitigation Specialist, Regulatory Division

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District

[phone] work cell

From: Jeff Keaton <[e-mail]>
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2024 1:02 PM
To: Davis, Erin B CIV USARMY CESAW (USA) <[e-mail]>
Cc: Polizzi, Maria <[e-mail]>; John Hutton <[e-mail]>; Tugwell, Todd J CIV USARMY CESAW (USA) <[e-mail]>
Subject: [Non-DoD Source] Re: Great Meadow Mitigation Plan Comment Response

Erin - That sounds good. Thanks for the response.

Jeff

________________________________

From: Davis, Erin B CIV USARMY CESAW (USA) <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]> >
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2024 12:52 PM
To: Jeff Keaton <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]> >
Cc: Polizzi, Maria <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]> >; John Hutton <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]> >; Tugwell, Todd J CIV USARMY
CESAW (USA) <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]> >
Subject: RE: Great Meadow Mitigation Plan Comment Response

Hi Jeff,

Apologies for the delayed reply. Thank you for providing the project comment response letter. We will circulate it to participating IRT members for review and request to receive any
responses by Friday July 26th. If there are any remaining questions or concerns, we may reach out to schedule a brief meeting to discuss.

Thanks,

Erin

From: Jeff Keaton <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]> >
Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2024 9:33 AM
To: Tugwell, Todd J CIV USARMY CESAW (USA) <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]> >
Cc: Davis, Erin B CIV USARMY CESAW (USA) <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]> >; Polizzi, Maria <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]>
>; John Hutton <[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]> >
Subject: [Non-DoD Source] Great Meadow Mitigation Plan Comment Response

Todd - Sorry for the delay, but the comment response letter for the IRT comments on the draft Great Meadow mitigation plan is attached. FYI, we are planning to close on this easement
in August. Please let us know if there are any questions or comments on the responses. Thanks.

Jeff Keaton, PE | Senior Water Resources Engineer

O: 919.851.9986 x103 M: 919.302.6919

Wildlands Engineering, Inc.

312 West Millbrook Road, Suite 225

Raleigh, NC 27609

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