Chapter 4 Habitats
headwaters of the Santee-Cooper River system, which flows through South Carolina to the Atlantic Ocean. There are three major river drainages in the basin:
• Upper Catawba: major tributaries include Catawba River headwaters, Linville River, North Muddy Creek, Warrior Fork, Johns River, Silver Creek, Lower Creek, Little River, Gunpowder Creek, Muddy Fork, Dutchman’s Creek, and Crowders Creek. The Linville River flows through the Pisgah National Forest Wilderness area and into Lake James. Practically all the Catawba River from Lake James southward is impounded by a chain of dams before entering South Carolina.
• Lower Catawba: major tributaries include Twelve Mile Creek, Six Mile Creek, Waxhaw Branch, Irwin Creek, McAlpine Creek, and Sugar Creek
• South Fork Catawba: major tributaries include Henry Fork, Jacob Fork, Clark Creek, and Long Creek
Based on 2011 National Land Cover Dataset information, land use in the basin was estimated to be 54% forested, 23% urban or developed, 16% agricultural, 3% grassland, and less than 1% wetland (MRLC 2011; Jin et al. 2013). 4.5.6.2 Aquatic Resource Conditions There are 3,100 miles of freshwater streams and 54,363 acres of lake and reservoir waters in the basin that have been classified by NCDWR for best uses. There are seven HQW (50,152 acres) and three ORW (21,185 acres), of which two are Special Management Strategy Areas (4,475 acres) in the basin (NCDEQ 2025f,g) . Notable areas include Johns River, Linville River, Henry and Jacobs Fork areas, and Upper and Steele Creek areas. These areas require site-specific provisions to protect resource values (no new discharges or expansion of existing discharges) (see 15A NCAC 02B.0225). Another supplemental classification is NCDWR’s trout water (Tr) designation, which protects freshwaters for natural propagation of trout and survival of stocked trout on a year-round basis. There are about 632 miles of streams in the Catawba River Basin designated as trout waters. This is not the same as the NCWRC’s designated Public Mountain Trout Waters, which are waters that support trout and are open to public fishing. These waters are classified for NCWRC management purposes as either hatchery supported (periodically stocked with trout) or wild trout waters (high-quality waters that sustain trout populations by natural reproduction).
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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