20161077 Ver 1_WRC Comments_20190403

❑ North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission ❑
Gordon Myers, Executive Director
April 3, 2019
Mr. David Brown
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch
151 Patton Avenue, Room 208
Asheville, North Carolina 28801-5006
SUBJECT: Harrell Mitigation Site
UT Caney Fork, Jackson County
Dear Mr. Brown:
Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) reviewed an
application to restore 1,771 ft of an unnamed tributary (UT) to Caney Fork (also known as
Harrell Creek) in Jackson County. Stream restoration activities will also cause permanent
impacts to 0.03 acre and temporary impacts to 0.26 acre of wetland. 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).
Wild trout should not be impacted by the project, and project activities do not need to be avoided
during a trout moratorium. However, the site is just upstream of Caney Fork, which is part of the
Tuckasegee River Aquatic Habitat a natural area recognized by the NC Natural Heritage
Program and rated Exceptional due to the richness of rare species it supports. In the vicinity of
the project, these rare species include the Eastern Hellbender [Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, NC
Special Concern (SC)], French Broad River Crayfish (Cambarus reburrus, NC SC), Smoky
Dace (Clinostomus sp., NC SC), and Wounded Darter (Etheostoma vulneratum, NC SC).
We support this project, as is intended to reconnect the stream to its floodplain, improve wetland
hydrology, and enhance riparian, wetland, and stream habitat. The application proposes to
remove a perched culvert, establish a new channel for a large portion of the stream reach,
stabilize stream banks and improve habitat and bedform diversity with a combination of bank
sloping, in -stream structures, brush toes, soil lifts, and planting native woody and herbaceous
vegetation. I spoke with Grant Ginn of Stantec, and he stated that instream work will be
performed in the dry. It is particularly important to use extra care with erosion and sediment
control on this project due to the rare species present in Caney Fork and the Tuckasegee River.
Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1721
Telephone: [phone] • Fax: [phone]

Harrell Mitigation Site Page 2 April 3, 2019
UT Caney Fork, Jackson County
We offer the following recommendations to minimize impacts to the aquatic community:
1. In -channel 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 nylon or plastic 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: Drew Alderman, Equinox Environmental
Chris Engle, Stantec
Kevin Mitchell, NC Division of Water Resources