Chapter 4 Habitats
There are 8,439 freshwater stream miles, 35,955 acres of freshwater lakes and impoundments, and approximately 4.2 miles of coastline in the basin (NCDWR 2015d) . According to National Hydrography Dataset, there are 1,476 estuarine acres in the basin (USEPA 2014b; Jin et al. 2013) . Major tributaries to the Roanoke River include the Dan River, Mayo River, Smith River, Country Line Creek, Hyco Creek/River, Cashie River, and Conoho Creek. Major impoundments include the John H. Kerr Reservoir, Hyco Lake, Lake Gaston, Roanoke Rapids Lake and Belews Lake. The North Carolina portion has two distinct parts: the western section in the Piedmont ecoregion, which includes the area above Roanoke Rapids Dam, and the eastern section in the Coastal Plain ecoregion, which begins below Roanoke Rapids Dam. The upper Dan River watershed in western Piedmont shows characteristics of both the Mountain and Piedmont ecoregions, with steep topography typical of Mountain headwaters. The Piedmont portion features rolling hills and is underlain with crystalline or sedimentary rocks and many tributary streams that carry large sediment bed loads. The transition zone between the Piedmont and Coastal Plain occurs below Roanoke Rapids Lake, with the lower 60 miles of river within the Coastal Plain. The Coastal Plain portion features a flat topography and is underlain by sand, silt, clay, and limestone. Land use in the basin is approximately 51% forested, 13% wetland, 7% urban or developed, 6% grassland, and 20% agricultural (MRLC 2011; Jin et al. 2013) . There are several federal- and state- owned public lands in the basin, including over 1.14 million acres of game lands (e.g., Caswell, Bertie County, Hyco, Roanoke River, Tillery), 32,751 acres of state and federal park lands (Hanging Rock State Park, Kerr Lake Recreation Area), and 29,960 acres of Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge. 4.5.15.2 Aquatic Resource Conditions There are about 8,439 miles of streams and rivers, including small intermittent and ephemeral streams, and numerous acres of freshwater and estuarine wetland communities in the basin. Segments of Country Line Creek, South Hyco Creek, Storys Creek, Double Creek, their tributaries, and other streams in the basin have supplemental classifications as High Quality Waters (HQW) or Outstanding Resource Waters (ORW) because they either have excellent water quality or they are a significant resource to humans and/or wildlife (NCDWQ 2010; NCDWR 2015c,d) . There are ORW Special Management Strategy Areas in the basin for the Cascade Creek and Indian Creek areas (506 acres) (NCDWR 2015c, NCDEQ 2025f,g) . 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 designation (Tr), which protects freshwaters for natural propagation of trout and survival of stocked trout on a year-round basis. There are about 120 miles of streams in the Roanoke River Basin designated Tr. This is
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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