20160375 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20160504

Strickland, Bev
From:Leslie, Andrea J
Sent:Wednesday, May 04, 2016 4:49 PM
To:'Elliott, William A SAW'
Cc:Brady Dodd ([e-mail]); Mitchell, Robert K; Goodfred, David W.
Subject:Thorps Creek Enhancement Project & Upper Creek AOP - NCWRC comments
Attachments:USFSThorpsCreekStreamEnhancementProject_ThorpsCr_Caldwell_WRCComments.pdf;
UpperCreekAOP_UpperCr_Burke_WRCComments.pdf
Hi William,

Attached are NCWRC’s comments on the US Forest Service’s Thorps Creek Enhancement Project & Upper
Creek Aquatic Organism Passage project.

Andrea

_____________________________________________
Andrea Leslie
Mountain Habitat Conservation Coordinator
NC Wildlife Resources Commission
20830 Great Smoky Mountain Expressway
Waynesville, NC 28786
828-558-6011; 828-400-4223 (cell)
www.ncwildlife.org

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1

� North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
May 4, 2016
Mr. William Elliott
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Thorps Creek Stream Enhancement Project
Thorps Creek, Caldwell County
Dear Mr. Elliott:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to enhance 700 feet of Thorps Creek in the Pisgah National Forest in Caldwell
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).
There are Rainbow and Brown Trout in the project vicinity and project activities should be
avoided between October 15 and April 15 to protect trout spawning. Downstream Wilson Creels
is part of the Wilson Creek Aquatic Habitat, a natural area recognized by the NC Natural
Heritage Program for the richness of rare species it contains. Just downstream of the project, the
Seagreen Darter (Etheostoma thalassinum, NC Significantly Rare), is found.
We support the project as described, as it should remove two in -stream structures, one which is a
barrier to aquatic organism passage in Thorps Creek. A 700 ft eroding reach on Thorps Creek
will be stabilized, using a bankfull bench, in -stream structures, and riparian planting. Work will
be performed in the dry, with flows pumped around the subject reach during construction.
There is a vented ford upstream of the project that serves as a barrier. We strongly recommend
that the USFS remove this barrier in the future.
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to fish and wildlife:
1. Vigilance should be 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]

Thorps Creek Stream Enhancement Project
Thorps Creek, Caldwell County
May 4, 2016
2. Any erosion control matting used 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. In -stream work should be avoided between October 15 and April 15 to avoid impacts to
Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout spawning.
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: Brady Dodd, US Forest Service
Kevin Mitchell, NC Division of Water Resources
David Goodfred, NC Wildlife Resources Commission

� North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
May 4, 2016
Mr. William Elliott
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Upper Creek Aquatic Organism Passage
Upper Creek, Burke County
Dear Mr. Elliott:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to restore aquatic organism passage by removing a concrete ford and a rough fish
barrier, temporarily impacting 200 feet of Upper Creek in the Pisgah National Forest in Burke
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).
There are Rainbow Trout in the project vicinity and project activities should be avoided between
January 1 and April 15 to protect trout spawning. The rare dragonfly, the Mountain River
Cruiser (Macromia margarita, US Federal Species of Concern, NC Significantly Rare), is also
found in the vicinity of the project.
We support the project as described, as it should remove two barriers to aquatic organism
passage in Upper Creek. As proposed, equipment will access the channel to accomplish barrier
removal and installation of a boulder cross vane. According to Brady Dodd, project designer,
sediments behind the rough fish barrier are mainly cobble and gravel with little fine sediments.
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to fish and wildlife:
1. In -channel work should be accomplished as quickly as possible.
2. As work will be performed in the wet, the thalweg should be diverted around the work area
by staging barrier removal and using temporary in -stream structures (e.g., coffer dams).
3. Vigilance should be 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]

Upper Creek AOP
Upper Creek, Burke County
May 4, 2016
4. Any erosion control matting used 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.
5. In -stream work should be avoided between January 1 and April 15 to avoid impacts to
Rainbow Trout spawning.
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: Brady Dodd, US Forest Service
Kevin Mitchell, NC Division of Water Resources
David Goodfred, NC Wildlife Resources Commission