Coolwater Streams

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North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan 2015

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Southern Blue Ridge

The 2015 North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan defines 41 priority habitats for the state. More information about this habitat can be found in Section 4.2.4.

Habitat Priorities

Surveys

• Conduct stream surveys adjacent to areas poised for development (edge of urban expansion) to establish baseline populations and identify problems before development expands. (Surveys Priority)
• Distributional and status surveys are needed for aquatic snails, crayfish, mussels, and fish (in order of general need). (Surveys Priority)

Research

• Examine stream temperature and associated microclimatic responses to a range of shading variables from riparian vegetation.

Management Practices

• Reduce impervious surfaces as one measure to control runoff and erosion. Researchhas shown that impervious levels of 8%–12% represent a region where small changes in urbanization can cause major changes in stream condition (Wang et al. 2001). There are also many BMPs that may be alternatives to reduce runoff.