Chapter 4 Habitats
The New River Basin is entirely within the Mountain ecoregion and is composed of three subbasins: the North Fork New River, the South Fork New River, and the Little River. Major tributaries include the Little River, Chestnut Creek, and Big Laurel Creek. The North Carolina portion of the New River Basin is mountainous and rural. Based on 2011 National Land Cover Dataset information (MRLC 2011) , land use in the basin is 69% forested, 22% agricultural, 7% developed or urban, 1% grassland, and less than 1% wetland (MRLC 2011; Jin et al. 2013) . Most land in the basin is privately owned. Public land ownership includes the New River State Park (1,300 acres along the South Fork New River), Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, Elk Knob State Park, five NCWRC game lands covering about 8,203 acres (including Three Top Mountain, Pond Mountain, and Mitchell River), and relatively small areas within the Blue Ridge Parkway (Blue Ridge National Heritage Area 2015). The USFWS established the Mountain Bogs National Wildlife Refuge (39 acres) in Ashe County for conservation of Appalachian Mountain bog habitats and protection of federal listed endangered and threatened species (USFWS 2015) . The NCWRC established the Watson-Old Man’s Bog Tract (about 10 acres) in Alleghany County to protect rare species. 4.5.13.2 Aquatic Resource Conditions The entire North Carolina portion of the New River and the lower South Fork New River (26 miles) are designated as both a USA National Wild and Scenic River (NWSRS 2015) and a state Natural and Scenic River (NCDPR 2015) . The entire Wild and Scenic-designated reach of the New River and South Fork New River reach is classified as Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW). The entire New River was named an American Heritage River (NPS 2015) in 1998. This designation brings with it federally funded, community-driven initiatives for protecting the river and for guiding sustainable growth in the basin. The basin contains some of the highest quality waters in the state, with many high-elevation trout streams supporting native Brook Trout. There are 569 miles of NCDWR-designated trout waters (Tr) in the basin representing 171 stream segments classified as trout (Tr) waters. The Tr designation is a supplemental classification intended to protect freshwaters that have conditions that sustain and allow for natural trout propagation as well as survival of stocked trout. This classification is not the same as the Public Mountain Trout Waters (PMTW) designation used by the NCWRC. The PMTW is a state fishery management designation administered by the NCWRC that designates public access to streams for fishing of hatchery- stocked trout on private and public lands. There are numerous streams in the basin that carry the ORW classification, including the North Fork New River and most of its tributaries, Big Laurel Creek and its tributaries, Three Top Creek and its tributaries, and South Fork New River and its tributaries. The requirements for classification as ORW are more stringent than those for HQW and in some circumstances, the
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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