The commissions current nursery facility consists of a small 16FT x 30FT greenhouse with six 3FT x 8FT toughs, and an outside yard with nine 4FT x 12FT troughs, ten 300GAL stock tanks and five…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $150,000 Project Grant under the National Fish Habitat Partnership (CFDA 15.686) program to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The grant will fund expansion of the Commission's aquatic plant nursery facility to increase production capacity from 3,500 plants in 2024 to 12,000 plants by 2027. This will support the Commission's efforts to establish self-sustaining native aquatic vegetation communities in eight reservoirs in 2024 and nine reservoirs in 2025. The expanded nursery will include a 30ft x 100ft greenhouse, outdoor grow areas, and infrastructure to support increased plant production. The project aims to improve fish habitat, angler enjoyment, and ecological conditions in these reservoirs through the restoration of native aquatic vegetation. It also includes public education and outreach activities to promote the benefits of native aquatic plants.

The commissions current nursery facility consists of a small 16FT x 30FT greenhouse with six 3FT x 8FT toughs, and an outside yard with nine 4FT x 12FT troughs, ten 300GAL stock tanks and five 100GAL stock tanks. We currently grow nine plant species that include emergent, rooted floating leaf and submergent plants. The proposed facility upgrades include building a 30FT x 100FT greenhouse, creating a 20FT x 100FT grow area outside the greenhouse with troughs and growing tanks, a well for water supply, and a small storage shed. When design and engineering of the new facility is complete the capacity of the nursery will expand over time from 3,500 plants in 2024 to 5,000 plants in 2025, up to 12,000 plants by 2027. The added capacity will allow an additional revegetation project in 2025 and expand the vegetation establishment program in years to come. Successful establishment of native aquatic vegetation in reservoirs can take 510 years. Of the eight ongoing revegetation projects, six are in reservoirs, one project is using native submerged vegetation to create spawning habitat in sloughs for muskellunge on the french broad river and one is creating mating habitat for the magnificent ramshorn snail. Goals for each project are waterbody specific. However, the primary goals for reservoir projects are to establish self-sustaining and expanding native plant communities in reservoirs that can provide habitat for juvenile and adult fish, and improve angler enjoyment, engagement, and success. Establishing native aquatic vegetation is completed in two phases. Phase 1 involves developing a habitat enhancement plan for each reservoir that includes a list of resilient plant species for vegetation establishment, mapping existing vegetation and planting and monitoring a variety of plant species within and outside of small protective fenced exclosures. Monitoring during phase 1 will help ascertain the levels of protection needed from grazers and determine which species will likely result in the successful establishment of founder colonies. This information will dictate the best course of action to take during subsequent growing seasons (phase 2). The size and number of protective exclosures will be expanded in phase 2. Once established, these colonies should expand by either vegetative spreading from the colony or by formation of new colonies from fragments and or seed disbursement. Goals of this project are to produce enough plants at the nursery to plant a total of 3,500 plants (8,000 SQ. FT. Of founder colonies) at eight waterbodies in 2024 and plant 5,000 plants (13,500 SQ. FT. Of founder colonies) in nine reservoirs in 2025. Expand the nursery facility at the commissions sykes depot in mebane north carolina in 2024 by creating a larger facility that would include building a 30FT x 100FT greenhouse, creating a 20FT x 100FT grow area outside the greenhouse with troughs and growing tanks, a well for water supply, and a small storage shed. Hold two education and outreach events at the nursery in 2024 and 2025 and provide onsite education on the benefits of native aquatic vegetation in reservoirs during revegetation work activities. Install a sign or banner at the new greenhouse facility that identifies major donors and sources of funding by september 2024. Maintain a balanced and popular fishery in reservoirs with vegetation establishment projects by maintaining or improving the relative abundance, size structure, condition, recruitment, and growth of largemouth bass and crappie populations.