20160656 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20160719

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission L
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
July 19, 2016
Mr. Andrew Williams
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
3331 Heritage Trade Drive, Suite 105
Wake Forest,NC 27587
SUBJECT: King Creek (Bledsoe) Stream Enhancement
King Creek, Surry County
Dear Mr. Williams:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC)reviewed an
application to stabilize 4684 feet of King Creek in Surry 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).
Project activities should not impact wild trout and do not need to be avoided during the trout
moratorium.
The application proposes to adjust the pattern,profile, and with rock vanes, toe wood, bankfull
benches,bank sloping, and planting of native vegetation. Work will not be performed in the dry.
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to the 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, preferably at the end of each work day.
2. Work areas that pose a greater risk of sediment loss (e.g., toe wood areas) should be isolated
from flows.
3. 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.
4. The planted riparian area appears to be 20 feet in width in most areas. We recommend that a
woody buffer of at least 30 feet be planted on both sides of the stream as infrastructure
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh,NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

King Creek(Bledsoe) Page 2 July 19,2016
King Cr, Surry County
allows in order to ensure project success. A wide forested buffer can ensure greater bank
stability, filter overland pollutants, and provide habitat for birds and other wildlife.
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: Kevin Tweedy, Ecosystem Planning and Restoration
Sue Homewood,NC Division of Water Resources