20170356 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20170327

� North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
March 27, 2017
Mr. William Elliott
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Brent Hollifield Stream Stabilization Project
North Fork Catawba River, McDowell County
Dear Mr. Elliott:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to stabilize 200 feet of the North Fork Catawba River in McDowell 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).
The project involves building a live log cribwall and native plantings. The project should not
impact wild trout, and project activities do not need to be avoided during the trout moratorium.
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to 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 matted as soon as possible, preferably at the end of each work day.
2. Work should be performed during low flows. If possible, the work areas should be isolated
from the main channel with the use of sand bags, other coffer dam material, and/or silt fence.
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. We recommend that a woody buffer of at least 30 feet be planted as infrastructure allows to
ensure project success. A wide forested buffer can ensure greater bank stability, filter
overland pollutants, and provide habitat for birds and other wildlife.
5. The seed specifications include Tall Fescue, which is highly invasive and can displace native
species. We recommend eliminating this from the seed mix for the riparian area.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Hollifield Stream Stabilization Project Page 2 March 27, 2017
North Fork Catawba, McDowell County
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
cc: Amy Anino, NC Division of Water Resources
William Faulkner, Natural Resources Conservation Service