Chapter 3 North Carolina Species
inform several other aspects of state water quality programs. For example, some waters with excellent quality can be petitioned for additional protection, and waters rated as poor may be listed as impaired, thereby making them subject to restoration planning. Not all waters are monitored, so having important mussel habitat included in a long-term monitoring program is an important step in having access to other water quality management tools. The DWR Water Planning Section develops standards, rules, and management strategies to protect water quality. Waters rated as excellent, and which have outstanding resources values (as defined in water quality statutes), can be petitioned for designation as Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW) or High Quality Waters (HQW). Such designations afford additional protections to ensure that water quality and associated resources are maintained. The process is not automatic and starts when DWR is petitioned to provide additional designation and associated protection. Resource agencies should identify the waters important for mussel conservation, which are eligible for ORW or HQW designations, and petition for those protections. Cooperation between DWR and partners (i.e. state and federal agencies, conservation organizations) is needed to develop site-specific water quality restoration plans under NC Administrative Code (see NCAC 15A 02B.010), which outlines rules for considering federally listed threatened or endangered aquatic species. For example, through collaborative efforts, the NCWRC, along with the NCNHP, USFWS, and DWR, developed the technical basis for a site- specific water quality management plan for Goose Creek (Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin) (https://www.deq.nc.gov/water-quality/surface-water-protection/401/riparian-buffers/goose- creek/download). However, there are other waters with federally listed aquatic species and water quality concerns in need of additional site-specific restoration plans. Advancements in propagation techniques and improvements to NCWRC hatchery facilities have contributed to the successful raising of freshwater mussels in captivity. The NCWRC’s Conservation Aquaculture Center at the Marion Fish Hatchery has had substantial success in propagating federal- and state-listed mussel species. 3.6.6 Threats and Problems Chapter 5 describes 11 categories of threats the Freshwater Mussel Taxa Team considered during evaluation and ranking process to identify SGCN. Evaluation results for Metric 9 about the expected scope and severity of these threats are available in Appendix 5, as noted below. The most likely threats to have very high impacts on freshwater mussel populations in North Carolina over the next 10 years include the following:
• Climate change and severe weather (see Appendix 5, Table 5.12-1) • Residential and commercial development (see Appendix 5, Table 5.3-1) • Pollution (see Appendix 5, Table 5.11-1)
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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