Agenda - 02-15-2005-7b - Laserfiche WebLink

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~-a MEMORANDUM TO: Board of Directors THROUGH: Ed Kerwin FROM: Ed Holland DATE: September 15, 2004 SUBJECT: Proposal to Allow State-Controlled Hunting on OWASA's 500-acre "Mitigation Tract" BackLround Permission to build the Cane Creek Reservoir was obtained from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) through a "Section 404" Permit issued to OWASA in 1981, The 404 Permit contained a number of provisions and requirements governing the reservoir's construction and operation, .Among these was the condition that OWASA obtain and set aside 500 acres of land to mitigate the loss of wildlife habitat that the reservoir's impoundment would cause, The so-called "Mitigation Tract" (please see the attached map) was obtained for that purpose, Regulatory responsibility for this portion of the permit was administered through the U.S, Fish and Wildlife Service and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC). Although written correspondence with the WRC in 1980 implied that the Mitigation Tract would be open for public hunting, this condition was not included in the actual 404 Permit issued by the Corps, The permit did, however, require that the Cane Creek Reservoir itself be open to the public for fishing and hunting. OWASA has always provided public boating and fishing opportunities at the reservoir, but has enforced a no- huntingpolicy at Cane Creek and all other OWASA-owned land, including the Mitigation Tract, Recent Activities Despite this prohibition and the posting of all boundazies, the Mitigation Tract has been subject to a significant amount of unmanaged hunting, littering, and trespassing, including off-road vehicle use, which OWASA field staff have been unable to control with any consistency. Correspondence in 2003 from the Corps of Engineers and WRC suggested that OWASA was not meeting the requirement to provide for public hunting and fishing at the reservoir,