4.5 River Basins
T ABLE 4.54 SGCN in the Chowan River Basin
Federal/ State Status*
Taxa Group CRAYFISH
Scientifc Name
Common Name
Orconectes virginiensis Acipenser brevirostrum Acipenser oxyrinchus Ameiurus platycephalus Enneacanthus chaetodon Enneacanthus obesus Moxostoma pappillosum Notropis bifrenatus Notropis chalybaeus Alasmidonta undulata Anodonta implicata
Chowanoke Crayfsh Shortnose Sturgeon Atlantic Sturgeon
FSC/SC
FISH
E/E E/E
Flat Bullhead
— — — —
Blackbanded Sunfsh
Banded Sunfsh V-lip Redhorse
Bridle Shiner
FSC/E
Ironcolor Shiner Triangle Floater Alewife Floater
—
MUSSEL
—/T —/T
Lampsilis cariosa
Yellow Lampmussel
FSC/E
* See Table 4.43 in Section 4.5.3.2 for abbreviations.
an advisory for dioxin contamination for Catfsh and Carp caught in the Albemarle Sound (NCDPH 2014) . Historically, dioxin, a by-product of paper mill bleaching practices, degraded water quality and negatively afected aquatic biota. However, new bleaching technologies have reduced contaminates from paper plant wastewater that enter the basin (NCOEE 2015) . Tere are 51 permitted CAFOs in the Chowan River Basin with 100 waste lagoons associ- ated with the facilities. Waste from these sites contains high levels of nutrients (e.g., nitro- gen and phosphorus) in addition to fecal coliform bacteria and any chemical compounds, such as antibiotics or hormone products used in commercial feeding operations (NCDWR 2015b) . Animal-waste lagoons and spray felds that discharge near or into aquatic environ- ments through runof, percolation into groundwater, and volatilization of ammonia and the release of bacterial contamination can signifcantly degrade water quality and endan- ger human and animal health (Mallin 2003; Mallin and Cahoon 2003) . Chronic episodes of hypoxia exist in the Chowan River and its tributaries in most years during seasonally hot weather. Dissolved oxygen levels frequently fall below 3.0 mg/l, which negatively afects aquatic biota. Cyclonic events and their accompanying rain- fall, storm surge, inundation, and fushing of bottomland swamp habitats have occurred repeatedly within the basin since 1995. Tese tropical events exacerbate an already fragile summer ecosystem, which leads to lower DO levels that can produce major fsh kills within the basin (NCDWQ 2007a) . Soil erosion and runof of fertilizer and animal waste caused by farming has been a concern within the basin. However, farmers have taken positive steps to reduce runof efects which have resulted in 123,244 fewer tons of eroding soils each year (NCOEE 2015) .
534
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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