20080400 Ver 2_WRC Comments_20170821

9 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 9
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
August 17, 2017
Mr. David Brown
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Peachtree Creek (Ware) Stream Restoration Project
Peachtree Creek, County
Dear Mr. Brown:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to restore 2,869 feet of Peachtree Creek and Stiles Branch in Cherokee County. We
visited the site with Chris Engle of Wolf Creek Engineering on August 8, 2017. 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).
This project should not affect trout and the activities do not need to be avoided during the trout
spawning moratorium. However, this site is in the Upper Hiwassee River Aquatic Habitat, a NC
Natural Heritage Program natural area rated Very High for the richness of rare aquatic species it
contains. Species in the immediate vicinity of this project include Eastern Hellbender
[Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, US Federal Species of Concern (FSC), NC Special Concern
(SC)], Rainbow (Villosa iris, NC SC), and possibly Junaluska Salamander [(Eurycea junaluska,
US FSC, NC Threatened (T)]. Additional species are found in the Hiwassee River, which is 1.5
mi downstream of the project, including Sicklefin Redhorse (Moxostoma sp., US Candidate, NC
T), Tennessee Clubshell (Pleurobema oviforme, US FSC, NC Endangered), Banded Sculpin
(Cottus carolinae, NC T), Wavyrayed Lampmussel (Lampsilis fasciola, NC SC), Spike (Elliptio
dilatata, NC SC), Highland Shiner [Notropis micropteryx, NC Significantly Rare (SR)],
Longsolid (Fusconaia subrotunda, US FSC, NC SR), and Southern Blotched Chub (Erimystax
insignis eristigma, US FSC, NC SR).
We are particularly concerned about potential sediment impacts to rare and listed species in the
Hiwassee River. One of these important species is the Sicklefin Redhorse, which spawns in the
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Peachtree Cr Stream Restoration Page 2 August 17, 2017
Cherokee County
Hiwassee River near the project site in the late spring. Proper sediment and erosion control is
essential to protect this aquatic community.
We support this project, as it proposes to restore unstable reaches of stream and improve in -
stream habitat. Pattern, dimension, and profile will be restored where needed; a bankfull bench,
in -stream structures, brush toe, and a riparian buffer of 24 feet from the top of the bank will be
established. Where possible, existing woody vegetation will be protected. Channel construction
on Peachtree Creek will be performed in the wet in many areas. We are supportive of Mr.
Engle's proposal to use temporary barriers to isolate work areas from flows and to install a
turbidity curtain and pump to route sediment -laden water from work area through a silt bag.
Before on -the -ground project activities begin, NCWRC staff will survey for and relocate any
hellbenders found in the project reach. We request that the project designer notify NCWRC
staff Lori Williams and Andrea Leslie at least 30 days before the project start date to allow
NCWRC adequate time to perform this work.
We offer the following additional 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/or matted as soon as possible, preferably at the end of each work day.
2. Any erosion control matting used should 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.
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: Chris Engle, Wolf Creek Engineering
Kevin Mitchell, NC Division of Water Resources
Byron Hamstead, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Lori Williams and Steve Fraley, NCWRC