Piedmont Greenway Master Plan - Town of Kernersville

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Wetland Communities The Piedmont Greenway corridor is abundant in wetlands, especially in Guilford County. Wetlands are typically defined by the presence of three unique interrelated natural features: hydrology, certain soils and species of vegetation. Wetlands are important to many ecological systems and serve as habitat for a diverse variety of plant and animal life. Wetlands also serve to filter pollutants from surface waters, recharge underground aquifers and absorb floodwaters. Most wetlands are protected by Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act, which authorizes the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers to regulate the discharge of dredged and fill materials into waters of the United States, including wetlands (called “Jurisdictional Wetlands”) that meet certain criteria. Reedy Fork Creek corridor’s floodplains have saturated soils at least part of the year, forming wetlands along the creek channel. These wetlands are valuable for maintenance of quality water resources and abatement of flooding. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wetlands Inventory defines the different types of wetlands that may occur on a site according to characteristic vegetation and hydrological properties. Typically, wetlands occur in floodplain landscapes and the following is a listing of classified types of wetlands known to exist along Reedy Fork Creek, Beaver Creek, Moore’s Creek and Kerners Mill Creek: riverine, palustrine, palustrine scrub-shrub, palustrine forested (low water table), and palustrine open water. Fresh Water Marsh Ecosystem Fresh water marshes are characterized by herbaceous rather than hardwood plants emerging from water habitat. Cattails and reeds are two commonly recognized herbaceous wetland species. Marshes are often located along streams or immediately adjacent to other permanent water bodies such as the Reedy Fork Creek. Seasonal changes in water levels are common and complete drying of these marshes will occur during periods of drought. Wet meadows are another type of marsh. Water loving grasses, unlike freshwater marshes, characterize wet meadows. Like the marshes, they frequently do not have standing water. Field analysis revealed a range of marshes and wet meadows scattered throughout the corridor both in size and range. Several large marshes were found near Lake Brandt, Lake Higgins and the Audubon Acres and near Lakewood Memory Gardens. These areas are likely to be considered jurisdictional wetlands and are probably subject to protection under federal, state, and local laws. Some of the vegetation identified within these marshes includes soft rush, wool grass, red maples and black tupelo (gum). Swamp saw grass, spikerush, dotted smartweed, pickerelweed, bulrush, tickseed and sedge dominate the vegetation. Riparian Forest Ecosystem The Reedy Fork Creek drains most of the corridor before emptying into Lake Brandt. The plant community that the stream and its tributaries support is classified as riparian forest. Plant species common to riparian forests require moist soils to survive, but can also tolerate flooding. The National Wetland Inventory generally classifies riparian areas as jurisdictional wetlands. Some of the species identified during the field analysis include the red maple, sweetgum, american sycamore, eastern cottonwood, virginia pine, yellow poplar, black walnut, white oak, water locust, southern catalpa, river birch, willow oaks, live oaks and swamp chestnut oaks. The understory ranges from dense shrubs to a mix of herbs and grasses with little ground cover. The herbaceous understory consists of sedges, rushes, various ferns, royal fern, ragwort, cardinal flower, marsh mallow, eastern marsh fern, virginia spiderwort, aster and spleenwort. Floodplain Forest The Reedy Fork Creek corridor floodplain forest includes all of the land that runs parallel on either side of the creek and lies below the riparian forest community. This community is similar in species composition to the riparian community. This community has a closed to almost-closed canopy of trees, which include but are not limited to the red maple, honey locust, american elm, loblolly pine, sycamore, and oaks. The dominant woody understory consists of trumpet vine, american hornbeam, virginia creeper, eastern poison ivy, deerberry, smooth blackhaw, muscadine and summer grape. There is a combination of bottomland trees and pines in the terraces beyond the bank. Upland Communities Early Successional Fields Ecosystem The majority of the Reedy Fork Creek, Moore’s Creek, Beaver Creek and Kerners Mill Creek corridors are composed of abandoned farm fields in various stages of ecological succession. When these fields were originally abandoned, grasses and wildflowers first dominated. The area then began to support small shrubs and eventually saplings. These old fields are characterized by subtle differences in plant composition depending on the soil type, the amount of water available, the dominant types of trees nearby and the length of time the field has been abandoned. The dominant invasive tree species in these fields are generally eastern red cedar, red maple, sycamore and a variety of oaks and pines. Within these fields, many small pockets of wet meadows and fresh water marshes exist. Prior to extensive farming of the sites located adjacent to the creeks, the entire landscape most likely possessed factors which today define the presence of jurisdictional wetlands. As wetland vegetation becomes established in these areas and spreads, the wetlands will grow in size. The dominant trees are sweetgum, yellow poplar, willow oak, water oak, ash and loblolly pine. Some of the understory tree species identified in this community are cottonwood, sourwood and alders PIEDMONT GREENWAY Final Master Plan Report 12
Mixed Hardwood Forest Ecosystem Several small upland areas within the Piedmont Greenway corridor contain mature forest, with a variety of hardwood species scattered within a few areas of the corridor. They are characterized by species such as the white oak, scarlet oak and eastern red oak. Each of the ecosystems offers opportunities and constraints to future land use development. Marshes and riparian areas protect water quality, filter sediment and dissolved nutrients, stabilize the stream structure, provide irreplaceable habitat and prevent flooding. Some are also protected by federal, state, and local laws, which protect them from significant alteration for the accommodation of many forms of development. These areas also serve to mitigate and absorb negative impacts of adjacent land development. Prior to actual construction of a Piedmont Greenway within the creek corridors, an in-depth evaluation of the wetland communities will be necessary to determine the areas appropriate and inappropriate for greenway development. (Partial Source: Ecology of Piedmont Greenway, Smith and Hellmund, 1993.) (Source: Landscape Restoration Handbook, Harker, Evans, Harker, Evans, Lewis Publishers, 1993.) Wildlife There are two broad categories of wildlife that are of concern to this planning effort. “Interior forest” species wildlife and “edge” species wildlife. Most species of wildlife that were observed to inhabit the Piedmont Greenway corridor are known as “edge” species. These mammals, birds, amphibians and insects have adapted to urbanized landscapes and have developed harmonious relationships with urban residents. However, “interior” species require undisturbed forest environments to survive and because of human population growth and resulting land development have experienced significant habitat loss and population declines. According to the North Carolina Natural Heritage program, there are 22 endangered species and/or threatened species listed for Guilford County. Animals and plants include eastern fox squirrel, bald eagle loggerhead shrike, mole salamander, carolina darter, greensboro burrowing crayfish, american barberry, dissected toothwort, piedmont horsebalm, hellar's rabbit tobacco, glade wild quinine, purple fringeless orchid, dwarf chinquapin oak, carrion flower, and appalachian golden-banner. Natural communities include the basic mesic forest, basic oak-hickory forest, low elevation seep, piedmont/low mountain alluvial forest, piedmont/mountian swamp forest, upland depression swamp forest, and wading bird rookey. Forsyth County lists 30 endangered species and/or threatened species. The animals and plants include loggerhead shrike, red-cockaded woodpecker, bog turtle, bigeye jumprock, bog rose, blunt-lobed grape-fern, small-anthered bittercress, brown bog sedge, hop-like sedge, long-bracted frog orchid, granite flatsedge, heller's rabbit tobacco, creeping sunrose, northern green orchid, yellow fringeless orchid, purple fringeless orchid, small's portulaca, pursh's wild-petunia, northern cup-plant, appalachian golden-banner. Natural communities include the basic mesic forest, dry oak-hickory forest, dry-mesic oak-hickory forest, granitic flatrock, low elevation seep, mesic mixed hardwood forest, piedmont monadnock forest, piedmont acidic cliff, alluvial forest, and piedmont semipermanent impoundment. The lands that are part of and/or adjacent to the greenway corridor have not been formally studied or recorded as part of the North Carolina Natural Heritage program. However, habitats for rare and common “interior” and “edge” species may exist in various forms throughout the Piedmont Greenway Study area. Edge environments exist in many locations throughout the Piedmont Greenway corridor, such as Reedy Fork Creek and Moore's Creek. The Greenway Master Plan is primarily concerned with those edge environments that exist within the floodplains of the corridor. These resource areas are arguably the most valuable for wildlife in that they provide a food source, water and shelter, and connectivity. Approximately 80 percent of all wildlife depends on riparian corridors for survival. Therefore, the protection of floodplains is crucial to sustaining a diversity of wildlife in Piedmont. The abundance of natural vegetation that covers the Piedmont Greenway corridor provides an excellent habitat for wildlife, which is diverse and abundant. However, in some of the more industrialized areas, the water quality of streams has affected aquatic habitat and stream banks, reducing their value for people and wildlife habitat. The corridor offers several features that are beneficial to wildlife: • diverse types of ecosystems containing a variety of habitats for wildlife; • small tracts of interior forest habitat; • numerous corridors available along streams and fence lines for wildlife movement; • plentiful water; and • natural adjacent land uses, creating a greater range for wildlife The following is a list of wildlife species that commonly occur in these habitats. It may be desirable to employ a qualified wildlife biologist to document habitat recovery along the creek corridor as the Piedmont Greenway becomes more developed. Aquatic Species Sunfish Largemouth Bass Reptile Eastern Box Turtle Snapping Turtle Birds Red-winged Blackbird Common Crow Eastern Bluebird American Robin Northern Cardinal PIEDMONT GREENWAY Final Master Plan Report 13
Page 1 and 2: The Piedmont Greenway Master Plan L
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary
Page 5 and 6: LIST OF MAPS & FIGURES Figure 1: Re
Page 7 and 8: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Piedmont Gree
Page 9 and 10: OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION Since the
Page 11 and 12: VISION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The fo
Page 13 and 14: BENEFITS OF GREENWAYS A multi-objec
Page 15 and 16: whether publicly or privately owned
Page 17: sensitive to erosion and need to be
Page 21 and 22: mercial in some parts and open farm
Page 23 and 24: ounding Triad Park and Kernersville
Page 25 and 26: main Piedmont Greenway trail along
Page 27 and 28: The status of local lines could cha
Page 29 and 30: • As an alternative, the south si
Page 31 and 32: Proposed Piedmont Greenway Alignmen
Page 33 and 34: Primary Piedmont Greenway Segments
Page 35 and 36: 39 Willow Bend Legend Deer Crossing
Page 37 and 38: Croyden Ches Legend Morris Primary
Page 39 and 40: Brittainywood Roberson Farm Valleyd
Page 41 and 42: Legend Roxbury Primary Greenway Tra
Page 43 and 44: Legend Primary Greenway Trail Road
Page 45 and 46: Old Orchard Woodfield Cathi Nickel
Page 47 and 48: Asbury Deere Hitachi Kernersville L
Page 49 and 50: Farmwood Legend Piney Grove Bost Ra
Page 51 and 52: 0 Ira Main Chaucer Manor Clay Flynt
Page 53 and 54: Bunker Hill Saddle Brook Dapple Gre
Page 55 and 56: Morganshire Parcel Data not Availab
Page 57 and 58: Gaylord Morganshire Faye Legend Ree
Page 59 and 60: Windcrest Bronco Wooden Rail Watert
Page 61 and 62: Legend Hepatica Summerfield Summerf
Page 63 and 64: safety railings be installed where
Page 65 and 66: ADA Requirements The Americans with
Page 67 and 68: COST ESTIMATE FROM SALEM LAKE & LIN
Page 69 and 70:
No. Item Qty. Unit Price Total V. K
Page 71 and 72:
No. Item Qty. Unit Price Total VIII
Page 73 and 74:
No. Item Qty. Unit Price Total XIII
Page 75 and 76:
Estimate of Probable Land Acquisiti
Page 77 and 78:
GREENWAY FUNDING SOURCES The most s
Page 79 and 80:
PL 566-Watershed Protection and Flo
Page 81 and 82:
METHODS OF GAINING PUBLIC ACCESS Ac
Page 83 and 84:
Greenway Facility Safety and Securi
Page 85 and 86:
2) a risk management plan that appr
Page 87 and 88:
landowner may still be sued but the
Page 89 and 90:
NORTH CAROLINA TORT CLAIMS ACTS AND
Page 91 and 92:
Supplemental Information ADDITIONAL
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THE WATERSHEDS OF FORSYTH AND GUILF
Page 95 and 96:
By designating buffers within flood
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Appendix B: Public Meeting & Worksh
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Appendix D: Public Meeting & Worksh
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Appendix E: NC News Piedmont Greenw
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PIEDMONT GREENWAY Final Master Plan
Page 105 and 106:
sources of water supply for drinkin
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Piedmont Greenway Master Plan - Town of Kernersville

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