Collins stream restoration daylighting project:the collins stream restoration daylighting project proposes to daylight and restore 700 feet and restore an additional 300 feet, for a total of 1100…

The Blue Ridge Resource Conservation & Development Council was awarded a $272,000 Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife program (CFDA 15.631). The funding will support the Collins Stream Restoration Daylighting Project, which will restore 1,100 linear feet of an unmanned tributary to the Cane River, including daylighting and restoring 700 feet of the main branch and an additional 300 feet. The project will also establish a vegetative buffer along the stream. Additionally, the funding will support the Valle Crucis Watauga River Access Project, which will restore 1,196 linear feet along the Watauga River using natural channel design techniques and provide a public river access point and environmental education programming. The grant will also fund the Shade Your Stream educational program, which will host workshops for private landowners in Western North Carolina to teach them how to protect riparian buffers by planting native vegetation. The grant period runs from Aug 31, 2023 to Sep 1, 2028.

Collins stream restoration daylighting project:the collins stream restoration daylighting project proposes to daylight and restore 700 feet and restore an additional 300 feet, for a total of 1100 linear feet of the main branch of an unmanned tributary to the cane river. This project will restore the hydrological function of floodplains and natural wetlands complex adjacent to the stream. After daylighting the stream, blue ridge RC d proposes to plant native woody vegetation and establish a vegetative buffer that will secure the riparian soil, shade the river, and filter overland runoff. The project is located within 220 feet of the cane river. This area is critical habitat for the federally endangered appalachian elktoe (alasmidonta raveneliana) mussel. Valle crucis watauga river access project:this project proposes stream restoration and functional uplift for 1,196 linear feet along the watauga river. Natural channel design techniques to restore channel dimension and adjacent floodplain areas and access. Structural components will include j-hook boulder structures to promote vertical and lateral stability in the river reachs meander. Sloping and benching is also proposed along the 1,196 linear feet project stream reach. Floodplain forest restoration is proposed for 5.36 acres at the project site. Plans are to provide a public river access and environmental education information.shade your stream (sys) is an educational program that promotes the importance of stream side vegetation to protect water quality, land quality, and aquatic habitat. Blue ridge RC d will host shade your stream backyard stream repair workshops for private landowners in western north carolina in 2023-2026 to learn how to protect riparian buffers by planting native species vegetation.