Increased Stream Protection in MD, VA, and NC Designated Habitats for Yellow Lance
The yellow lance (Eliptio lanceolata), a federally threatened species of freshwater mussel, will be provided additional protection along specific reaches of rivers and streams in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina following the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) issuance of the Final Rule; the new regulation will be effective on May 10, 2021. The USFWS made one change from the proposed rule we discussed in our February 24, 2020 edition of Field Notes – a revision of the Special Management Considerations or Protections language to clarify the need to reduce “improper forest management or clearcuts within riparian areas.”
It's Almost Pogonia Season!
Small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides)
Summer is on its way and WSSI is gearing up for another season of small whorled pogonia surveys. If your Virginia or North Carolina project sites host mature hardwood forest with an open understory, you can minimize impacts to your project schedule by having us perform a small whorled pogonia habitat evaluation or survey early in the development process. The field survey window for this species is narrow:
Northern Virginia: June 1 - July 20
Southern Virginia: May 25 - July 15
North Carolina: mid-May - early July
SAVe Yourself A Headache
American eel grass (Vallisneria americana)
The recommended survey windows are approaching for submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). If you are working on a project that impacts tidal waters – such as boat piers, docks, marinas, or channel dredging – you are likely required to document the presence or absence of SAV on your project site to determine whether compensatory mitigation is required. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chesapeake Bay Office recommends two windows for conducting field surveys: May 15 through June 15, and July 15 through September 15. These two windows allow surveyors to locate different species that may only be present during these timeframes.
Don't Harp About Project Delays!
Schedule Harperella Surveys Now
harperella (Ptilimnium nodosum)
As we approach the mid-summer months, our environmental scientists are preparing for another season of harperella surveys. This small, endangered member of the carrot family lives along larger rocky creeks in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. If you have projects in these states, you can minimize impacts to your project schedule by having WSSI perform a harperella habitat evaluation or survey early in the development process – preferably within the July 1 to September 30 field survey window.
2021 Regulatory Update Webinar:
Regulatory Community Shares Insight to the Current Environment
WSSI hosted a webinar on April 14 with guest speakers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Maryland Department of the Environment, and AquaLaw to provide an update on the Clean Water Act and other regulatory news in Virginia and Maryland. WSSI and Davey Resource Group staff provided insight on mitigation and nutrient banking, migratory bird and endangered/threatened species regulation, and stormwater compliance.