Attachment_3_Project_Description.docx

12455019R0015 Attachment 3 Grandfather Ranger District

Swannanoa Creek Stream Enhancement Project 2019 – Project Description Brady Dodd, May 15, 2017, edited December 3, 2018 Project Background:

Swannanoa Creek (Figure 1), in the Catawba River Basin, is classified by the state of NC as Class C, Trout. The watershed has a history of timber harvest with a concentration of activity, including roads and farming, in the valley bottom. Currently there is private land being farmed on the north bank and a Forest Service picnic area on the south (Photo 1) within this reach. The property boundary follows the centerline of the channel. In the past this reach likely has been impacted by channelization and therefore is entrenched without normal access to its floodplain. Because of rocky banks and good vegetation, excessive bank erosion occurs but is not frequent (Photo 2). Large wood, functioning in the stream channel, is not frequent and therefore, aquatic habitat diversity is low; pools are largely lacking.

Figure 1. Site location of Swannanoa Creek Stream Enhancement Project.

Photo 1. Photo of Swannanoa Creek, looking at eroded bank and FS picnic area, May 11, 2017.

Photo 2. Swannanoa Creek Current Condition looking downstream at project reach.

Project Description:

Within this ~1,400 feet stream reach of Swannanoa Creek work is proposed to stabilize erosion and sources of sedimentation and improve aquatic habitat diversity. This will be accomplished using natural channel design techniques including the construction of 7-10 instream structures such as those detailed in Appendix A – Structure Specifications. The channel’s natural dimension, pattern, and profile (within a confined valley bottom) would be reestablished in the constructed reach using upstream reference reach data to establish a stable stream channel with high quality aquatic habitat.

APPENDIX A – STRUCTURE SPECIFICATIONS

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