|
He knew something was wrong when his pond began to take on a green color and he noticed fish looking sick, he said.
In Ward's opinion, the fish kill is related to recent road construction and hydroseeding for an upstream logging operation. An old road was reworked, Ward said, and a both banks were hydroseeded.
That opinion is shared by Jeff Hinshaw, an extension fisheries specialist with N.C. State University, who said that while hydroseeding doesn't typically kill fish, if enough of it gets into a creek, it could.
"Given the set of circumstances Paul described, I have no doubt that the fact the fish died was directly related to grading and the application of hydroseeding," Hinshaw said.
The fertilizer used in hydroseeding is probably not the culprit, Hinshaw said.
"The bottom line is that fertilizer has been used in fish ponds for decades," he said. "Unless there is an overload all at once, fertilizer won't typically cause problems."
Fertilizer can cause changes to water quality and contribute to algal blooms that can cause fish kills, but that takes time, Hinshaw said.
"It's unlikely that fertilizer would have caused an immediate fish kill," Hinshaw said. "It's much more likely that a combination of sediment, cellulose fiber and polysaccharide (a sugar that makes the cellulose fiber stick to steep banks) caused it."
Hinshaw's theory, and he stressed that it was only a theory, is that the sediment, fertilizer, seed, cellulose and adhesive material combined to form a mat that could have clogged the gills of Ward's fish and caused them to suffocate.
"That's what I suspect would have happened," Hinshaw said. "I really suspect a direct physical effect from a combination of silt, the material to adhere the cellulose and the cellulose fiber, though any one of them could potentially do it."
Problems with fish are "common" in ponds with road grading nearby until those areas are stabilized, Hinshaw said.
Another possibility that could have harmed the fish, Hinshaw said, is that naturally occuring iron sulfate-containing rock (anakeesta) was uncovered during the road work.
"If the rock is uncovered and it rains, it can cause concentrated acid that can cause a drop in pH (a measure of water's acidity)," Hinshaw said.
The 25-acre logging area accessed by the reworked road is part of a larger tract owned by Mary Bradley and others. Tax bills are sent to Robert D. Bradley of Sylva, according to Bobby McMahan, head of Jackson County's Land Records Office. Ward said he understood Jeff Darnell of Whittier was overseeing the road construction on Bradley's behalf.
Though Bradley was unavailable for comment, Darnell confirmed that the Bradleys plan to sell the property, and that the prospective buyer is paying for the road construction. Darnell said he is not involved with the road work in any way but acted to put the various parties in touch with each other. The prospective property owner, who Darnell declined to name, is a longtime customer of Darnell's business, Darnell Farms.
In Darnell's opinion, the recent work has improved the old road because the prospective buyer insisted that the road be rebuilt to high standards.
"The road before was a mess," Darnell said. "If someone's going to log, I'd rather they do it to high standards."
Darnell said he didn't know if there was any connection between the recent construction and the loss of Ward's fish but regrets it happened.
"It bothers me that the fish were killed, but I don't know how to resolve the situation," Darnell said.
Regardless of speculation as to why the trout died, it appears that the logging operation has followed all recommended procedures.
Jackson County passed a sediment control ordinance last year, but logging is exempted according to state statutes, said Commissioners' Chairman Jay Denton.
Also, the development in Wilmot does not fall under the provision of the county's watershed protection ordinance, said John Wittekind, chief building inspector and watershed administrator for the county. The watershed ordinance covers only the Tuckaseigee watershed upstream of Cullowhee, the site of Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority's water treatment plant, Wittekind said.
The N.C. Department of Natural Resources Water Quality Division does not have jurisdiction either, said Kevin Barnett, environmental specialist with that agency.
"It's a forestry operation," Barnett said. "So long as the individual follows forestry rules, they're exempt from our rules."
"If they were building house sites, they would have needed a county permit," said James Turpin, assistant county ranger with the N.C. Forest Service.
Loggers are not required even to notify the forestry office, Turpin said, but they are required to follow recommendations made by his agency if sedimentation is occurring as a result of their activity. If loggers refuse to follow those recommendations, Turpin said, they are referred to the county sediment ordinance officer, who then has the authority to levy fines.
In general, Turpin said, his agency recommends hydroseeding because it's the best way to get grass growing to prevent siltation. Hydroseeding adheres to steep banks and helps grass come up faster, Turpin said.
Bentley Robinson of Jackson County's Soil and Water Conservation agency also indicated hydroseeding is the accepted way to re-vegetate banks left barren during after road construction.
With regard to the logging activity upstream of Ward, Turpin said the road work has been done correctly. The banks were hydroseeded when he first visited the site, he said.
"When the logger contacted us, we went and looked at it," Turpin said. "They're following our recommendations."
"What we do is stop siltation from going into streams," Turpin said of his agency. "We're all out here to clean up the streams."
|
