Restoration

Following the planning process, we work with our partners to identify funding opportunites that enable us to perform on the ground restoration projects at any scale. These projects include streambank restoration, invasive removals, water access, channel bed realingment, flood storage, and stormwater BMPs.

Chestnut Mountain Park - Hominy Creek Stream Restoration

Timeframe | November 2023 - September 2024

Partners

Town of Canton
Pigeon River Fund
Haywood Co Soil & Water Conservation District
USDA NRCS
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
Southwestern NC Resource Conservation Council

Funding Source | NC Land and Water Fund

Amount Awarded | $177,910

Scope of Work

This Project will enhance and complement Chestnut Mountain Nature Park, an effort led by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy to protect 448 acres near the Town of Canton in Haywood County. The project will:

1. Consult with relevant permitting and regulatory agencies

2. Draft and complete engineering designs and plans

3. Secure all required local, State, and Federal permits

4. Secure conservation agreements on riparian areas

5. Construct Project per engineering design and plans

6. Develop educational features

7. Develop a planning document to identify water quality opportunities in the watershed

Impacts

Sediment loads originating from the Project area and upstream have degraded in-stream habitat. Degraded riparian buffer due to human activities, including mowing and using construction waste as fill, invasive plants, and poor stream access limit the resource value of the stream. The Project would address these issues by stabilizing the streambank, removing invasive plants, and planning future improvements through a watershed action plan.

Revitalization of River Cane in Haywood County (Round 2 #1524)

Timeframe | April 2022 - December 2023

Partners

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Affiliates
EBCI Cooperative Extension Services,
Kituwah Preservation and Education Program

Funding Source | Cherokee Preservation Foundation

Amount Awarded | $3,790

Scope of Work

Installation of two educational signs at rivercane transplanted sites in Haywood County, River’s Edge Park in Clyde and Vance Street Park in Waynesville. We would work in collaboration with the Kituwah Preservation and Education Program; it will include the history and culture of EBCI, species importance, and environmental education.

Impacts

An increase in community engagement through education and outreach, specifically on Cherokee connections to the river.

Revitalization of River Cane in Haywood County (Round 1 #1469)

Timeframe | October 2020 - March 2022

Partners

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Affiliates
EBCI Cooperative Extension Services,
Kituwah Preservation and Education Program

Funding Source | Cherokee Preservation Foundation

Amount Awarded | $3,430

Scope of Work

To install educational signs at rivercane transplanted sites in Haywood County in collaboration with the Kituwah Preservation and Education Program; it will include the history and culture of EBCI, species importance, and environmental education.

Impacts

An increase in community engagement through education and outreach, specifically on Cherokee connections to the river.

Elevated Park Stream Improvement

Timeframe | June 2018 - April 2019

Funding Source | Pigeon River Fund

Amount Awarded | $44,970

Scope of Work

Elevated Park is located on Jonathan Creek, which is a major tributary in the Pigeon River watershed. The stream is a drinking water source for the town, has some of the highest water quality in the county, has excellent trout habitat, and supports the town’s Mountain Heritage Trout Waters designation. This is Phase II of a two-phase project. It includes stabilizing 160 linear feet of eroding stream bank, replacing a culvert that connects Phase I with Phase II, and educational signage. It would be part of a larger effort by the town to protect water quality and improve their park system. This project meets all four of the FERC license objectives of improving surface water quality, enhancing fish and wildlife habitat, expanding public use of waterways, and increasing citizen’s awareness about their roles in protecting these resources.

Impacts

Even though our Volunteer Water Information Network (VWIN) water chemistry data indicate Jonathan Creek through downtown Maggie Valley has excellent water quality, the stream is still at high risk of degradation due to stormwater and erosion. There are many businesses and residents with a lot of impervious surfaces built right up to the edge of the stream. There are signs that stormwater is having an impact, as documented by the erosion occurring along many sections of the stream, including at Elevated Park. We believe that it is easier to protect a stream from degrading rather than improve it once it has been degraded. The more we can do to reduce stormwater impacts and quickly repair erosion issues the more it will help keep the stream high quality. Phase I is addressing stormwater originating from Elevated Mountain Distilling. This Phase II project would address eroding stream banks. The stream bank is vertical along most of the park due to erosion. The protective vegetation is in poor condition; it is mostly grass, which has small root systems that do a poor job of preventing the stream bank from being undercut, or stopping erosion if it starts. At the downstream end of the park, the stream bank is held together with an old bus buried in the bank. It is severely corroded and not expected to last too many more years. The park is also on a bend in the stream channel so it receives high erosion pressure, particularly when flow levels are high. Other issues this project addresses are public access to Jonathan Creek because much of the property in Maggie Valley along the stream is private, and improving fish habitat for fishing, particularly for the disabled.