Attachment_7_Army_Corps_Permit_Application.pdf

Bedard WRE Wetland Restoration USACE Permit Application

6/17/2019

The following numbers correspond to the Department of the Army Permit Application

5. Applicant’s Name:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service

(Please send all correspondence intended for the Applicant to the Authorizing Agent as well)

6. Address of Applicant:

356 Mountain View Drive, Suite 105 Colchester, Vermont 05446 James.Eikenberry@vt.usda.gov

7. Applicant Telephone Number(s):

(802) 449-7255

8. Authorized Agent’s Name and Title:

Ryan Crehan, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

9. Agent’s Address:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lake Champlain Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office 11 Lincoln Street, Essex Junction, VT 05452 ryan_crehan@fws.gov

10. Agent’s Telephone Number:

(802) 662-5310

12. Project Name or Title:

Bedard WRE Wetland Restoration Project

13. Name of Waterbody:

The project area is located in a wetland that is adjacent to the Jail Branch, a perennial tributary of the Winooski River. The Winooski River is a traditional navigable water of the U.S. No work is proposed within the Jail Branch. A field evaluation of the site determined that the proposed work is located within a wetland that was converted for agricultural use. Based on the field evaluation and review of aerial photography, it was determined that this ditched and farmed wetland is within

Section 404 jurisdiction as it contributes to the chemical, biological, and physical integrity of downstream traditionally navigable waters, in this case, the Winooski

River. Based on soil pits, a review of soil maps, vegetation and position in the landscape, it was determined that all proposed impacts are located within a wetland.

Wetland data sheets are attached.

14. Proposed Project Address:

Vermont Route 110, Orange, Orange County, Vermont 05641

(see attached Site Location Map)

15. Location of Proposed Project:

N 44°8'36.552" W 72°25'48.503"

The project is located in fallow agricultural fields near the Jail Branch in Orange, Orange County, Vermont (see attached Site Location Map).

16. Other Location Descriptions:

State Tax Parcel ID: 45314310037

Municipality: Orange

17. Directions to the Site:

From Barre, Vermont, head west on Vermont Route 302 for 3.8 miles. At the traffic circle, take the exit for Vermont Route 110 (Mill Street). Follow Route 110 for approximately 1.7 miles and turn left onto a shared driveway. At T, turn left onto a farm drive. The project site is located north of the hayfield. (See attached Site

Location Map)

18. Nature of Activity:

The overall project entails the restoration of wetland habitat on a wetland that was ditched, drained and cleared. The site has a man-made ditch and associated spoils piles.

This project intends to restore the hydrology, topography, and natural communities of the site by filling the ditch, removing spoils, excavating a depressional wetland, constructing hummock features, planting trees/shrubs, adding large woody debris and controlling reed canary grass. These actions will restore the preexisting hydrology, enhance wildlife habitat, improve wetland function, and increase overall nutrient cycling of the wetland while reestablishing the topography and natural communities that likely existed prior to agricultural impacts.

An excavator, bulldozer, and track truck will be used to manipulate soil on site.

Excavated material from the depression will be used to construct the adjacent hummocks. Material from the spoils removal locations will be used to fill the ditch.

No soil will be brought onto or off the site. Woody debris will be placed on the soil surface and erected upright within the depression to create simulated snags for wildlife to use. Published research has shown that woody debris placed in wetland restoration projects increases invertebrate diversity and provides important habitat.

As there are few woody plants in the close vicinity of the proposed work, natural recruitment would be a very long process. By placing wood in these areas, we can advance the restoration and functioning of these wetlands. In addition, native trees and shrubs will be planted on site to improve the wetland and riparian habitat and further the restoration of the wetland. The proposed reed canary grass control area is an area where herbicide control of reed canary grass is proposed. No ground disturbance or fill would be associated with this work. Herbicide work would only be completed after receiving approval from the Vermont Wetlands Program and all of the above mentioned work was completed.

By restoring the hydrology of the wetland and discontinuing the agricultural use of the site, the historic wetland vegetation and functioning of the site can be restored. The depressional wetland would average 1.5 ft. deep with a maximum depth of 2 ft and would be constructed by removing soil from the wetland. This feature was designed to restore the hydrology of the wetland and increase habitat diversity on site that was lost due to land leveling and past farming practices.

The project area was mapped by NRCS as Charles silt loam, Saco mucky silt loam, and muck. The site was previously used for hay and as a pasture. Natural communities associated with Charles soil type include silver maple-sensitive fern riparian forest, alluvial shrub swamp, alder swamp, and river mud shore. For the

Saco soil type, the associated natural communities include alder swamp, alluvial shrub swamp, shallow emergent marsh, and sedge meadow.

The proposed work would be carried out as follows.

1. A benchmark elevation of 10.0 ft would be set at a GPS-located cap pin adjacent to the WRE sign on the southeast corner of the project area. All proposed features would be staked out and flagged by USFWS personnel using GIS data loaded onto a Trimble GPS.

2. The depressional feature would be excavated to a maximum depth of 24 inches and side slopes would be 5 to 1. Average depth would be 18 inches.

3. Material from the depression would be placed on the existing ground.

Sides would be contoured to 5 to 1 side slopes with a maximum elevation of

24 inches.

4. Material from the spoil piles would be excavated and placed in the ditch to reestablish sheet flow. The spoils removal areas would be excavated back to existing grade and ditches filled to this same grade.

5. The woody debris would then be placed on site and the snags erected.

6. The hummocks, ditch fills, and spoils removal area would be seeded with a conservation mix and mulched with hay.

The following figures provide the basic schematic for the proposed restoration features. The diagrams below show the cross-sectional dimensions and longitudinal view for the depressional wetland. The proposed depression would have 5 to 1 side slopes.

The proposed hummocks would have a maximum elevation of 2 ft with 5 to 1 side slopes on all sides as shown in the diagram below.

Approximate dimensions for the depressional feature are listed below. Since they are irregularly shaped, variations in these dimensions exist. Area and volumetric totals were calculated using a GIS program for increased accuracy. A general idea of size (ft) is provided by the dimensions below.

Proposed Feature Length (ft) Width (ft)

Depression 265 35

19. Proposed Project Purpose:

The purpose of the project is to restore the functions and values to wetland habitat that was ditched, farmed and degraded. Agricultural use of the site has degraded the wildlife habitat of the wetland by altering the hydrology, reducing microtopography, removing trees and shrubs, and creating areas of homogenous herbaceous community. By reestablishing the sheet flow hydrology to the site, excavating a depressional wetland, constructing hummocks, filling a ditch, and removing spoils piles, the water quality of area surface waters will likely benefit as well as improving wildlife habitat particularly waterbird, amphibian and songbird habitat. This project is intended to return this degraded wetland to its previous condition and thereby restore the functions and values of the wetland that were lost due to ditching and farming practices. Hydrology will be restored to 5.27 acres of impacted wetlands.

20. Reason(s) for Discharge:

The reason for the discharge is to restore the hydrology, topography and vegetation of this impacted wetland. By filling the ditch, the wetland hydrology of the site can be restored and the functioning of the wetland as a floodplain community can be improved. By creating hummocks and a depression, a diversity of topography can be restored. Soil from the depression will be discharged to create the adjacent hummocks thereby restoring the hydrology and topography. And finally, woody debris will be discharged to provide habitat for birds, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates and to provide structure and aid in the functioning of the wetland.

21. Type(s) of Material Being Discharged and the Amount of Each Type in Cubic Yards:

Approximately 650 cubic yards of soil will be excavated from the depressional feature and discharged to create the hummocks.

Approximately 360 cubic yards of soil would be excavated from the spoils piles and discharged into the ditches for the ditch fills.

In addition to the soil, approximately 20 cubic yards of woody debris in the form of branches, trunks, limbs and stumps will be discharged into the wetland for habitat and nutrient cycling purposes.

22. Surface Areas of Wetlands or Other Waters Filled:

Wetland will be filled only where the proposed ditch fills, hummocks, and woody debris are located. These areas need to be filled in order to restore the hydrology of the site that was altered by the construction of the ditches and to restore the microtopography. No material will reapplied to the spoils removal areas or the depression. All areas of impact are shown below though fill is simply removed from the depressional feature and spoils removal areas. Surface areas filled: 18,435 sq ft

(0.42 acre) – ditch fill, hummocks, woody debris.

The area of impact from the components of the project would be as follows.

23. Description of Avoidance, Minimization, and Compensation:

This is a wetland restoration project.

24. Is Any Portion of the Work Already Complete?: No

No earthwork or large woody debris placement has been completed within the

Waters of the U.S. at this time. Work will commence following approval by USACE and receipt of General Permit Authorization along with the approval of any state and local permits.

Proposed action Sq. feet Acres Depressional feature 9,315 0.21 Hummocks 12,435 0.29 Spoils removal 6,565 0.15 Ditch fill 5,940 0.14 Large woody debris 60 0.00 Total area of disturbance 34,315 0.79

25. Names and Addresses of Adjoining Property Owners, Lessees, etc., Whose Property Adjoins the Project Site:

Theodore and Linda Rochon

61 Vt #110, East Barre, VT 05649

Gary and Sylvia Farnham

854 MacDonald Rd, Washington, VT 05675

State of Vermont

Department of Environmental Conservation

1 National Life Drive

Montpelier, VT 05620

Eugene and Nancy Bedard, Edmund and Karen Bedard

160 Tucker Rd, Barre, VT 05641

Claire and Bernard Benoit

8 Benoit Dr, Barre, VT 05641

Larry B. Pike

PO Box 143, East Barre, VT 05649

26. Information about Approvals or Denials by Other Agencies:

Since this is a wetland restoration project, a State Wetland Permit is not required.

The State Wetlands Coordinator will review the project through this USACE General

Permit Application.

Monitoring and Maintenance

Management of the site will be consistent with the purpose of the restoration project and the intentions of the NRCS Wetland Reserve Easement Program. The 36-acre site has a conservation easement that was signed between the landowner and the

U.S. Department of Agriculture. This permanent easement does not allow the site to be farmed, logged or developed and will maintain it as wetland habitat in perpetuity.

Monitoring of the site will be performed by NRCS personnel to insure the conservation values are maintained and the easement values are protected.

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