Chapter 4 Habitats
The French Broad River Basin in North Carolina is composed of three major subbasins, each of which individually flows northwest into Tennessee: French Broad River, Pigeon River, and Nolichucky River. • Within the Asheville Basin, the French Broad and tributaries are relatively low gradient and share many habitat characteristics with streams in more lowland areas. Consequently, a number of aquatic species more typical of the Valley and Ridge, Piedmont, and even Coastal Plain are known from this part of the French Broad and nowhere else in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Near the city of Asheville, the French Broad flows out of the Asheville Basin and descends a relatively steep, narrow gorge before entering Tennessee. There are no major dams and reservoirs on the mainstem French Broad in North Carolina; however, there are three run-of-river impoundments with small detention pools (Craggy, Capitola, and Redmon). There are multiple small dams and impoundments on larger tributaries (e.g., Lake Julian, Beetree Reservoir, Enka Lake) and many more on smaller streams, especially in the upper portion of the watershed in Henderson and Transylvania counties. • The topography of the Pigeon River watershed is similar, with high-gradient headwaters, a relatively flat midsection, and a steep gorge near the Tennessee border. Dams and impoundments in the Pigeon River subbasin include Walters Dam/Waterville Lake (with a 12-mile bypassed reach downstream), Lake Junaluska, Allen Creek Reservoir, and Lake Logan. • The midsection of the Nolichucky River watershed lacks substantial flat areas and remains higher gradient and gorge-like throughout its length in North Carolina. While there are a few small impoundments on minor tributaries, there are no dams on the Nolichucky River and its major tributaries. Approximately 77% of the basin is forested, 11% is agriculture, 11% is considered developed, 1% is grassland, and less than 1% is wetlands (MRLC 2011; Jin et al. 2013) . Much of the forested land is at the higher elevations and lies within the boundaries of Pisgah National Forest, Blue Ridge Parkway, and a portion within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Future assessments of forested land cover are expected to be significantly less following the severe impacts of Hurricane Helene in September 2024. Most agricultural and developed lands are concentrated within the river valleys, though residential development is occurring on increasingly steeper slopes. 4.5.8.2 Aquatic Resource Conditions Surface waters of the state are assigned a classification that carries standards for protecting the best intended uses of that water. Classification categories include aquatic life, recreation, fish consumption, and water supply. There are about 1,263 acres of freshwater impoundments and 986 miles of freshwater streams in the basin that have been classified for best uses (NCDEQ
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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