Fox Creek Park Ecological Assessment
Mountains-to-Sea Ecological
828.551.8225
PO Box 255
Barnardsville NC 28709
Oct 2022--May 2023
INTRODUCTION
At the request of Allen Dye of the Swannanoa Community Council (SCC) and Friends of Fox Creek, MTS Ecological performed an Ecological Assessment of the Fox Creek Park between October 2022 and May 2023 The study area, operated by the Friends of Fox Creek, includes ~2.35 acres in the central Grovemont Community in Swannanoa, NC Buncombe County.
The site is in the central Grovemoent Community of Swannaoa between W. Charleston and Hawthorn Avenues, Summer Street, and Ivanhoe Drive. It is bounded by residential tracts on all sides. It sits in the central upper region of a tributary referred by residents locally as “Fox Creek.” Fox Creek headwaters originate 0.3-0.4 miles north of the park at the toe slopes of Four Brothers Knobs, a toe-slope mountain of the greater Black Mountain Range.
The Friends of Fox Creek is charged with:
· Protecting and caring for the ecological health and historic value of Fox Creek Park and maintaining it in as wild and natural a state as is practical for all of the plants and animals inhabiting it.
· Creating and managing access to Fox Creek Park for visitors as both an educational resource and a natural public space.
· Providing guidance and organizing volunteer efforts related to the environmental restoration and maintenance of Fox Creek Park, as well as seeking opportunities to include the greater community in these efforts.
· Maintaining the Fox Creek Park web page and message board with regular updates.
METHODOLOGY
Data Review - prior to and during the project relevant public and restricted GIS and other data was reviewed including but not limited to National Wetland Inventory (NWI), the 2022 North Carolina Natural Heritage Program (NCNHP) “Element Occurrence” database, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) soils data, USGS and aerial imagery, previous reports and iNaturalist species information. Data for mapping wetlands, streams, water samples, biological assessment, plot, or other useful permanent locations was collected in the field using handheld GPS and generated in Quantum GIS (QGIS). Acreage and linear footage calculations were calculated in QGIS.
Wetland Delineation - was performed on October 1 and 25, 2022 by Kevin Caldwell and Bob Gale. Delineation timing was based on rainfall to observe the highest water table possible. Field methodology and delineation followed the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) 1987 manual, served as the delineation basis with using the USACE 2012 Regional Supplement, and the 2020 National Wetland Plant List (NWPL).
Site review for wetlands occurred within obvious wetlands and upland zones, with soil samples collected to document wetland or upland status. Streams internal and external to wetlands were mapped at their centerlines using handheld GPS and aerial imagery. Note that the wetland vegetation inventory occurred within a single plot and is not comprehensive to the entire wetland due to time of year; comprehensive wetland vegetation inventories will occur in 2023.
Soils were sampled by Bob Gale using a post-hole digger in two locations, reviewing hydric soil characteristics and presence of water within twenty inches. Soils were documented using the Munsell Soil Chart for wetland and upland soil Identification. Data collection sheets from the 2012 Regional Supplement and the 2016 Regional Hydric Plants List were used to document wetland (W1) and upland (U2) plots.
Natural communities - were classified using the National Vegetation Classification (NVC) and NCNHP classification systems developed in tandem by the two organizations. NatureServe, which was developed by the Nature Conservancy, serves as an international conservation leader and is the repository for all state Natural Heritage Program natural community and rare species data in the US. NVC serves as the standard natural community classification system for the United States Forest Service (USFS), the US National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and most US land management agencies. Natural communities are assessed and ascribed quality rankings as “A to D,” or “excellent” (A) to “poor” (D) and described by state and global rarity or common rank and status.
Plant and Wildlife Identification – Botanical, wildlife, and natural community inventories are targeted towards documenting the greatest possible range of biodiversity within reasonable field effort for the property size with a focus on rare species, rare and high-quality habitats, and critical natural features. Biodiversity inventory targets are plants (native or introduced), wildlife (particularly breeding bird species, amphibians, and reptiles), in-stream aquatic invertebrates (“the bugs”), and “natural communities,” (aka habitat types).
In the field, handheld GPS is used to locate and document rare species, rare communities, unique or high-quality features, and other key features or locations. Features are described in notes, and digital photos will document all relevant features. Data are entered and mapped into GIS for existing “baseline” conditions, for map production, and for potential / future “restore-to” (or “original”) natural conditions.
Field-unidentifiable and potentially rare plant specimens collected in the field (if suitable numbers existed to allow collection) are keyed using the Draft Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium (Weakley, 2022). Rare plants refer to the NCNHP List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina (Wichmann, 2022). Natural communities are “classified” to their most similar types in the Guide to the Natural Communities Fourth Approximation. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program Department Natural and Cultural Resources (Schafele, 2012; DRAFT, 2023).
Plant and wildlife species are listed as encountered until no new species are detected. and described within their natural community types, noting NCNHP-listed rare species, and common, characteristic, endemic, and exotic-invasive species. Breeding bird species, which are relatively easily detectable by song and sight, and which are primary habitat quality indicators will be surveyed in AM hours during peak breeding season (May-early June). Incidental wildlife is recorded as observed.
Water Quality Assessment - performed in May 2023. The assessment consisted of:
⮚ Chemical and fecal coliform assessment via water samples (3) - two on the primary stream western channel and one on the wetland tributary channel.
⮚ Biological assessment of in-stream aquatic communities (biota) at sample collection points
⮚ Physical assessment of stream and embankment structure, riffle and pool complexes, sedimentation, and embankment collapse or undercut locations
⮚ Photographic documentation of existing stream conditions at entry/egress points and key, repeatable locations within stream corridors
On May 15, 2023, water samples were collected andto submitted to the Environmental Quality Institute (Black Mountain, NC) for analysis following the methods of APHA (2012). Dissolved oxygen was measured at each sample collection site using an Extech DO600 Waterproof ExStik II Dissolved Oxygen Meter. Nutrient, water quality, and physical structure sampling and survey are a subset of methodology outlined by Scott, et al. (2009).
In-Stream Biological Assessment - Kicknet samples were utilized to document aquatic insects to document existing stream health at three collection points in two stream channels. Insects were collected and identified to species, general and family following protocols utilized by the Izaak Walton League (Izaak Walton League) and multiple government agencies.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Overview: Fox Creek contains a mixture of fair-to-poor and good conditions with great promise for restoration of native habitats based on residents management actions recently. Restoration actions have already begun, with a strong community group willing to invest time improving the area and making it accessible to neighbors and natural dynamics.
The park and the greater area have been heavily impacted historically via clearing, grazing, agriculture, pond-construction, probable ditching, and ensuing flooding. Following pond development, which would have entirely covered remaining native vegetation and stream structure, the pond was abandoned and has been recovering since. The primary stream channels are deeply incised, steep and eroding, and in need of support and restoration. Many dominant non-native invasive species (NNIS) are in-process of removal. However, several high-quality features remain including mature Oak Hickory and Swamp Forest habitats –the latter being small, but in very good condition.
⮚ Natural Communities – the property harbors two small but good quality natural communities including the globally and state “imperiled” (S2/G2) Swamp Forest/Bog Complex and Low Elevation Seep (Typic Subtype) damaged/modified into a springhouse historically, and the regionally common (S5/G5) Montane Oak-Hickory Forest (Acidic Subtype). Non-forested or “early successional” (unranked) areas are dominated by Kudzu in-process of removal.
⮚ Plant and Wildlife Species – Approximately 239 total observed species, comprising 193 plant and 46[1] wildlife species. This total does not include the full array of insect species currently being documented via iNaturalist.
⮚ Three NCNHP Rare and Watch List species were observed including Mountain Camellia (Stewartia ovata), Riverbank Wild Rye (Elymus riparius) and Canada Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis).
⮚ Non-Native Invasive Species (NNIS) - 45 NNIS species occur onsite, several being problematic and targets for removal and others being less problematic, established regionally, relict cultivars, and/or intractable.
⮚ Wetlands – the property contains 0.41 acres of area-based wetland and 415 linear feet of perennial streams in four sections, as jurisdiction of the US Corps of Engineers (USCOE) and the NC Water Resources Division (NCDWR).
⮚ Water Quality Sampling – reveals relativelley normal nutrient and physical water conditions, with slightly elevated turbidity and total suspended solids and high fecal coliform levels.
⮚ In-Stream Biological Assessment - 91 aquatic invertebrates individuals (“macroinvertebrates”) were observed, as well two fish and a crayfish. Fox Creek scored an “excellent” water quality rating with a quality index of 26 via Isaak Walton League parameters, having several stonefly and mayfly species that are intolerant of polluted water.
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