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SITE DESCRIPTION <br /> Little River Gorge/Little River A uatic Habitat <br /> FAUNAL SIGNIFICANCE: State (DIRC 4) <br /> LANDSCAPE FUNCTION : Medium (DIRC 1 ) <br /> BOUNDARY INTEGRITY : High <br /> LEVEL OF THREAT : Medium <br /> PROTECTION STATUS : Low <br /> COAEWUNITY VIABILITY : High (DIRC 3) <br /> SUAIMARY OF SIGNIFICANT FEATURES : <br /> 1 . The Little River Aquatic Habitat supports populations of three freshwater mussels that <br /> are state listed as Threatened and candidates for federal listing . yellow lampmussel <br /> (Lampsilis canosa) , Atlantic pigtoe (Fusconaia masons) , and triangle floater <br /> (Alasmidonta undulata) . Additionally present are the squawfoot (Strophitus <br /> undulatus) , also state listed as Threatened , and the notched rainbow ( Villosa <br /> constricts) , considered significantly rare in North Carolina . All but the triangle <br /> floater have been recorded in the Durham County portion of this aquatic habitat . <br /> 2 . The highly scenic Little River Gorge possibly supports populations of worm-eating <br /> warblers (Helmitheros vermivorus) , cedar waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) , redback <br /> salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) , and other disjunct montane species . Black vultures <br /> ( Coragyps atratus) , state listed as Special Concern , and striped skunks (Mephitus <br /> mephitus) , a regionally rare species , are also frequently observed along the upper <br /> reach of the Little River , <br /> LANDSCAPE FEATURES : <br /> The Little River Aquatic Habitat includes the North and South Forks as well as the upper <br /> portion of the Little River itself, from the confluence of the two forks downstream to the Little <br /> River Reservoir (Smith , et . al . , 1993) . The two headwater streams lie mostly in Orange County , <br /> where they flow through a largely wooded and undeveloped watershed . No towns or large <br /> communities exist along either stream and only one residential and one commercial package <br /> treatment plant currently discharge into the South Fork . Consequently , the water in these <br /> streams is exceptionally high and the reaches upstream from the reservoir have been designated <br /> WS II by the state Division of Environmental Management (equivalent of High Quality Waters) . <br /> Downstream , however , the river passes through a more developed area (including the Treyburn <br /> complex) , where eight package plants empty into the river .. The water quality was nonetheless <br /> still rated as Good as far downstream as Old Oxford Road as recently as 1991 -- DEM , 1991 ) . <br /> Just a few miles below the confluence of the two forks in northwestern Durham County , <br /> the Little River begins its plunge through the edge of the Slate Belt into the Triassic Basin .. The <br /> narrow chasm cut through this fall line is perhaps the most scenic place in the entire county , <br /> rivaled only by the similar but wider gorges on the Flat and Eno Rivers . Below the old Johnston <br /> Mill site , the slopes rise up as much as 150 ' along first one side of the river then the other . At <br /> 213 <br />