20040198 Ver 1_Other Agency Comments_20080215

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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
MICHAEL F. EASLEY
GOVERNOR
Ms. Katherine Skinner
Vice President
The Nature Conservancy
North Carolina Chapter
4705 University Drive, Suite 290
141 East Fisher Avenue
Durham, NC 27707
Mr. William Ross
S ecretary
N. C. Department of
Environment and
Natural Resources
1601 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699
Dear Ms. Skinner, Mr. Benjamin, Ms. Hillman, Secretary Ross, and Mr. Harris:
RE: Wildlife Underpass, Project R-2514
US 17 Widening Project from Belgrade to New Bern in Onslow & Jones Counties
This is in response to the October 15, 2007 letter from The Nature Conservancy, the October 16, 2007 letter
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the October 26, 2007 letter from the U.S. Forest Service, the
November 2, 2007 letter from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the
November 6, 2007 letter from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission regarding your requests for a
wildlife underpass between Maysville and the community of Chadwick on US 17 in Jones County.
LYNDO TIPPETT
SECRETARY
February 15, 2008
Mr. Pete Benjamin
Field Supervisor
U. S. Department
of the Interior
Fish and Wildlife Service
P. O. Box 33726
Raleigh, NC 27636
Ms. Lauren Hillman
District Ranger
Croatan Ranger District
U. S. Department
of Agriculture
Forest Service
New Bern, NC 28560
Mr. Fred Harris
Interim Director
North Carolina Wildlife
Resources Commission
Division of Inland Fisheries
1721 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Our project team has reviewed your proposals including ecological and biological data. We have also
considered information that you or your representatives provided at the January 11, 2007 meeting facilitated
by Mr. Hervey McIver (The Nature Conservancy) and Mr. Scott Pohlman (N.C. Department of Environment
and Natural Resources Natural Heritage Program), the July 30, 2007 meeting facilitated by Mr. Gary
Jordan (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Mr. Travis Wilson (N.C. Department of Environment and Natural
Resources - Wildlife Resources Commission), and Mr. Mark Jones (N.C. Department of Environment and
Natural Resources - Wildlife Resources Commission), and the August 28, 2007 meeting that was an open
discussion with all parties involved.
MAILING ADDRESS:
NC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS BRANCH
1548 MAIL SERVICE CENTER
Q--nvr 97800-1 FAR
TELEPHONE: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
WESSITE:
I-A-1 nrrlnt nrn /rlnh /n-nn ctrnrt
LOCATION:
TRANSPORTATION BUILDING
1 SOUTH WILMINGTON STREET
RALEIGH NC 27601
Ms. Skinner, Mr. Benjamin, Ms. Hillman, Secretary Ross, and Mr. Harris
R-2514: Wildlife Underpass
February 15, 2008
Page 2
NCDOT concurs that a wildlife underpass on US 17 in the approximate location shown on the attached
aerial photograph would provide a physical connection and accommodate the natural movements of black
bear and other large and medium-sized mammals between the Hoffman Forest and the Croatan National
Forest. It is our understanding that you and other biologists and wildlife experts believe that this location is
critical to the long-term health of the black bear population in the central Coastal Plain. Your data also
indicate that the underpass would decrease vehicle-animal collisions and improve traffic safety for the
public.
NCDOT participated in a partnership to develop the North Carolina Onslow Bight Conservation Forum
Memorandum of Understanding. We acknowledge that one of the goals of the MOU is "to promote the
establishment of landscape corridors and buffers between and adjacent to existing public and private
conservation lands to enhance long-tern wildlife population viability and genetic exchange and to ensure
land management flexibility, respectively." We also acknowledge that construction of a wildlife underpass
at this location would contribute toward the achievement of that goal.
For these reasons, NCDOT agrees to fund and construct a single wildlife underpass as part of our
US 17 highway improvements project subject to the following design criteria and provisions:
> Dual bridges (northbound and southbound lanes)
> 100-foot underpass opening (fence-to-fence)
10-foot vertical clearance
> Install a series of culverts ranging from 18 to 60 inches in diameter for passage of reptiles,
amphibians, and small mammals
Underpass to be fenced and to extend lh mile to the north and 1/2 mile to the south of the underpass
on both sides of US 17; Fencing will be provided at the outside limits of standard NCDOT right of
way.
On or before February 2009, The Nature Conservancy must provide NCDOT with a copy of an
executed agreement demonstrating that The Nature Conservancy has control (development and
mining rights, etc.) via an easement on the Weyerhaeuser Tract and the "conservation lands" for
protection in perpetuity for wildlife passage across those properties, thereby connecting the
Hoffman Forest to the "conservation lands" to the proposed US 17 wildlife underpass to the Croatan
National Forest. If the agreement is not executed by that date, NCDOT will not provide the funding
or construct the underpass as part of the US 17 improvements. This date corresponds to our design
schedule and will ensure the project can proceed on schedule. NCDOT requests that The Nature
Conservancy allow NCDOT to review the contract/agreement before it is signed.
The current location of the wildlife underpass is based upon preliminary plans. After receipt of final
surveys, NCDOT will coordinate with The Nature Conservancy to determine the exact location of
the underpass and the corresponding easement across the Weyerhaeuser Tract and the "conservation
lands."
NCDOT will maintain the bridges, roadway, and fill slopes as it does all facilities within
the state highway system. NCDOT will maintain fencing within NCDOT right of way.
Ms. Skinner, Mr. Benjamin, Ms. Hillman, Secretary Ross, and Mr. Harris
R-2514: Wildlife Underpass
February 15, 2008
Page 3
Except for fencing, The Nature Conservancy and their partners will maintain related components of
the wildlife underpass on public and private properties, and the vegetation within the wildlife paths
and approaches, beneath the bridges, and on the fencing. The Nature Conservancy and their
partners will enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with NCDOT to allow third-party access to
and maintenance of vegetation within the public right of way.
NCDOT is providing funding for and construction of the wildlife underpass at the request of The
Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the N.C.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
We all agree that this work would be an avoidance and minimization measure to prevent further
fragmentation of the natural landscape of the Croatan National Forest. Therefore, we request that
the partnering agencies acknowledge our cooperation and agree to consider NCDOT's contribution
of this wildlife underpass as a beneficial avoidance and minimization measure for this US 17 project
and also for the Havelock Bypass Project (TIP Project No. R-1015).
We appreciate your time and consideration in the preparation of your proposals and presentations for this
wildlife underpass, and look forward to continuing our cooperation on these projects. Should you have
comments or questions regarding our response or wish to further discuss this issue, please contact me at
[phone].
)nmental Analysis Branch
GJT/mp
cc w/ attachments: Lyndo Tippett, Secretary of Transportation
Marvin Blount, Member, Board of Transportation
Cameron McRae, Member, Board of Transportation
Deborah Barbour, P.E., Director of Preconstruction
bcc w/ attachments: Ms. Karen Compton (USDA - Forest Service)
Sincerely,
Ms. Skinner, Mr. Benjamin, Ms. Hillman, Secretary Ross, and Mr. Harris
R-2514: Wildlife Underpass
February 15, 2008
Page 4
bee w/ attachments: Ms. Karen Compton (USDA -Forest Service)
Mr. Dennis Danner (USDA - Forest Service)
Ms. Renee Gledhill-Earley (NCDCR - Historic Preservation Office)
Mr. Robert Hanson, P.E. (NCDOT - Project Development)
Mr. Phil Harris (NCDOT - Natural Environment)
Mr. Mark Jones (NCDENR - Wildlife Resources Commission)
Mr. Gary Jordan (USDOI - Fish and Wildlife Service)
Mr. Neil Lassiter, P.E. (Division Engineer, Division 2)
Mr. Hervey McIver (The Nature Conservancy)
Mr. Chris Militscher (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Ms. Trish Murphey (NCDENR - Division of Marine Fisheries)
Ms. Mary Noel (USDA - Forest Service)
Mr. Mark Pierce, P.E. (NCDOT - Project Development)
Mr. Scott Pohlman (NCDENR - Natural Heritage Program)
Mr. Ron Sechler (NOAA - Marine Fisheries Service)
Mr. Steve Sollod (NCDENR - Division of Coastal Management)
Mr. Jim Speer, P.E. (NCDOT - Roadway Design)
Mr. Wes Stafford, P.E., AICP (Wilbur Smith Associates)
Mr. Daniel Van Liere (Down East Rural Planning Organization)
Mr. David Wainwright (NCDENR - Division of Water Quality)
Mr. William Wescott, P.W.S. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Mr. Travis Wilson (NCDENR - Wildlife Resources Commission)
Mr. Brian Yamamoto, P.E. (NCDOT - Project Development)