Agenda - 05-26-2015 - C-2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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131 American beavers. The construction of beaver dams back up water in these lower areas, raising the water table, and flooding large areas of the creek bottoms. These wetlands are helping to protect water quality in McGowan Creek and beyond, and are providing unique habitats for wetland plant communities as well as waterfowl and other wildlife species. Plant Communities The property totals 112 acres, of which approximately 88 acres are forested. The remainder is composed of cultivated fields, hayfields, and a small farm pond. Cropland, pasture, wetlands, riparian areas, and multiple ages of mixed species forest provide a mosaic of habitats on this property. Because of this diversity in both landforms and land -uses, this property has the potential to support a wide range of species and communities. RECORDS REVIEW Physical Setting & Soils The elevation ranges from 636 feet above sea level where McGowan Creek leaves the property at the southeastern corner, up to 730 feet on a broad ridge top on the northwestern corner. Generally the topography is gently rolling and slopes rarely exceed fifteen percent. The exception to this rule is a limited area of land paralleling the main channel of McGowan Creek, where the land drops sharply to the floodplain and slopes up to fifty percent are present. A copy of a topographic map for the site and immediate area pulled from the Orange County Geographic Information System is included as Figure 1. Based on soil surveys conducted by the Natural Resource Conservation Service, most of the soils on the property consist of well- drained clay and silt loams in the series Georgeville, Cecil, Enon, and Herndon. Many of these soils have been heavily impacted by agricultural use over the last few centuries. The creek bottoms and floodplains are dominated primarily by Chewacla series loam. In general, these soils are somewhat poorly drained, moderately deep, and highly productive. A soils map can be found in the Forest Stewardship Plan in the appendices. Standard Environmental Records A review of standard federal and state environmental record sources pertaining subject site and surrounding area was conducted using Environmental Data Resources (EDR) on -line database services on March 9, 2015. The EDR Geocheck Report was generated using the minimum search distances recommended in the ASTM 1527 -13 Standard. A summary of the EDR data is provided below: Site: The Site was not identified in the federal or state databases searched. A list of the databases searched is provided within the attached EDR Report Federal Databases: The Site was identified not identified in the federal databases reviewed. State Databases: The Site was not identified in the state databases reviewed. Abutting Properties: No Abutting Properties to the Site were identified in either the federal or state databases. Hart's Mill Environmental Assessment 1 2