4.5 River Basins
agriculture and development in the watershed degrades habitat. Runof from large-scale agriculture and development, and riparian degradation and bank erosion threaten the lower Mills River. Dams on the mainstem French Broad River are run-of-river and appear to have fewer negative impacts than peaking operation and reservoir impoundment. Barrier efects and population fragmentation (or at least the isolation of upstream populations) impact extant riverine fshes (especially potamadromous species) and the potential for restoration of extirpated species (e.g., Lake Sturgeon, Sauger). Te Pigeon River has experienced signifcant degradation from point source pollution and impoundment, as well as nonpoint sources. A paper mill at Canton (Blue Ridge Paper Products, formerly Champion Paper) discharged toxic wastes directly into the Pigeon River for several decades. Many priority species were eliminated from the mainstem Pigeon River by this pollution. Improvements in wastewater treatment that began in the early 1990s have improved habitat conditions and prospects for recovery of many native species are good. Improvements in the paper mill’s impacts to the reservoir must meet certain thresholds defned by chemical and biological criteria before water can be released. Te most signifcant impacts from impoundment in the French Broad River Basin are at the Walters Dam (Progress Energy) and bypass reach on the Pigeon River. Approximately 5 miles of the river is impounded in Walters Reservoir, and the river 12 miles down- stream from Walters Dam is dewatered (except for some leakage at the dam and tributary infow) by bypassing water from the reservoir through a penstock to a powerhouse near the Tennessee state line. Restoration of minimum fows to the bypassed reach is tied to improvements in upstream water quality (per FERC, Article 414). Te Pigeon River and short reaches of the East Fork and West Fork of the Pigeon, upstream from Canton, have remained a relatively high-quality cool- and warmwater habitat that has provided refuge for most of the priority species that are still extant in the subbasin. Increasing development could potentially degrade this important habitat. Other tributar- ies, such as Jonathans Creek, Richland Creek, Fines Creek, and Crabtree Creek are vari- ously degraded by nonpoint source pollution that comes primarily from poorly managed agriculture and increasing development. Historically, sedimentation and pollution from several mining operations throughout the Nolichucky River subbasin (primarily in the North Toe watershed) signifcantly degraded cool- and warmwater habitats. Encouragingly, improvements that began in the 1970s have helped reduce these impacts. Habitat in the North Toe River between Spruce Pine and the South Toe River confuence continues to be degraded, apparently from discharges and runof from mining operations and the town of Spruce Pine. Floodplain gravel mining in
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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