20071946 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20071203

GL 0 -7 -
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 0
MEMORANDUM
TO: Amanda Jones, USACOE
Asheville Regulatory Field Office
FROM: Ron Linville, Regional Coordinator
Habitat Conservation Program
DR @19 MR I
ZWW GcC 3 2007
DENR - WATER QUALITY
MI ANMA00 STQRVAIATER 9RANCH
DATE: November 21, 2007
SUBJECT: Appalachian State, Chamber of Commerce and SC&S Future, Kraut/Boone Creek
(DWQ Class: C-Trout) Enhancement Project, Watauga County
The applicants propose to provide stream enhancement activities at the referenced site.
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission are familiar with habitat
values in the area. These comments are provided in accordance with the provisions of the Fish
and Wildlife Coordination Act (48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-667d) and the North
Carolina Environmental Policy Act (G.S. 113A-1 through 113A-10; NCAC 25).
The project will enhance 185 linear feet of stream in Boone. Current conditions are unstable and
erosive due to vertical banks. Rock vanes, rock buttresses and riparian "pocket" wetlands plus
floodplain connectivity are proposed methodologies. Coconut and coir matting, live stakes and
matting staples are indicated. The application indicates that 3300 square feet of ASU parking lot
will be removed. This reclaimed area will provide a flooded wetland with obligate vegetation.
A 40-foot wide riparian forested buffer zone will be allowed to become established. Brown and
Rainbow trout are known downstream in Hodges Creek, Winkler Creek, and South Fork New
River.
Based on our review of the submittal, we will not object to the project as proposed providing the
following conditions are implemented:
In stream work and land disturbance within the 25-foot wide buffer zone are
prohibited during the brown and brook trout spawning season of October 15 through
April 15 to protect the egg and fry stages of trout from off-site sedimentation during
construction.
2. Softer enhancement measures are recommended and preferred over extensive
hardening of stream banks as hardening tends to cause destabilization in ancillary
stream reaches.
Mailing Address: Division of Inland Fisheries - 1721 Mail Service Center - Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] - Fax: [phone]
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Kraut/Boone Creek Enhancement -Page 2 -
November 21, 2007
3. Sediment and erosion control measures should adhere to the design standards for
sensitive watersheds (15A NCAC 4B.0124).
4. Heavy equipment should be operated from the bank rather than in the stream channel
in order to minimize sedimentation and reduce the likelihood of introducing other
pollutants into the stream.
5. Temporary or permanent native herbaceous vegetation should be established on all
bare soil within five (5) days of ground disturbing activities in the twenty-five (25)
foot trout buffer to provide long-term erosion control and stability. Only
autochthonous (native) plant species should be used for the project although
temporary nursery crop plantings of annual oats, wheat or rye grain may be helpful
for quick stabilization. Restored streams and stream banks should be planted with
autochthonous (native) plants like silky dogwood, rhododendron, dog hobble, red
maple, silky willow, tag alder, black willow, sycamore, river birch, or other native
woody species indigenous to the area. Onsite native vegetation and materials may be
used for stream bank stabilization when practicable.
6. We encourage use of natural fiber matting instead of plastic matting as plastic matting
tends to entrap small wildlife species.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on this project during the early planning
stages. If you have any questions regarding these comments, please contact me at 336/769-9453.
E-copy: Sue Homewood, DWQ-WSRO