Agenda 11-16-2021; 8-c - Approval of Interlocal Agreement Renewal and Master Plan - Little River Regional Park and Natural Area

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22 Hydrology and Soils The Piedmont region has a complex pattern of streams " and rivers,with the northern portions of Orange and Durham counties lie within the Neuse River Basin.The main rivers in this area are the Little River, Eno River and Flat River.These rivers all flow into Falls Lake,a major source of drinking water for the City of Raleigh,which in turn forms the Neuse River.The North Fork and the South Fork of the Little River meet to form the Little River approximately one mile southeast of Little River Park.The northern and eastern boundaries of Little Riv- er Park are formed by the North Fork Little River.Buffalo Creek feeds into the North Fork Little River along the eastern boundary of the park.An unnamed tributary Vegetation flows northeastward through the middle region of the Little River Park consists of four plant communities park before it joins the North Fork Little River. identified by Wichmann,Wall,and Walker(2010). Routine monitoring of fish and macroinvertebrate Most of the park is in varying degrees of succession populations are conducted immediately downstream due either to previous logging or tilling for agricul- of Little River Park in the North Fork Little River by the ture.The plant communities are summarized as: NC Division of Water Resources (DWR).The most recent 1.Dry-Mesic Oak/Hickory Forest(DMOH)• sampling events conducted by DWR in the North Fork This vegetation community accounts for 81%of Little River determined that the fish and benthic com- the Little River Park. It occurs over vast areas of munities yielded"Good"ratings. In 2015, DWR staff also the upland slopes and flats. Most of the acre- determined that this site possessed the"highest quality age is in varying degrees of succession,from habitats of any of the sites in the Neuse Piedmont in pine-dominated to oak-dominated forest. 2015....no change since 2000 reflecting stable land use in the watershed;a typical high quality Carolina Slate 2.Mixed Mesic Hardwood Forest(MMH): Belt-type stream with riffles, runs, pools..:' This community occupies the northern parts of the park and along the bluffs on the west side of The upland soils of Little River Park are generally silty the North Fork Little River. loams in the soil series Nason, Herndon,Tatum,and Georgeville.These four soil series are generally wide- 3.Piedmont/Low Mountain Alluvial Forest spread and are closely related to each other;they (PAF): account for 76%of the site.There are a few isolated This community type occurs along rivers and areas of the Iredell soil series. Iredell soils have higher other low-lying areas in the Piedmont where pH and are weathered from parent material that tends the rivers are not large enough to create distinct to be higher in iron and magnesium,relative to the landforms and vegetation zones. This commu- aforementioned soils. In the Piedmont,the Iredell soil nity occupies 6%of the park, mainly along the series is also associated with a different suite of species North Fork Little River and several small tributar- that prefer to be on higher pH soils(Wichmann,Wall, ies. and Walker;2010). 4.Upland Depression Swamp Forest(UPS): This community type was only found at one lo- cation at the park and it only occupied 0.2 acres. This community type is generally of small size in the Piedmont,occurring in poorly drained up- land flats or depressions where seasonal pooling of water occurs due to an impermeable layer of clay hardpan or bedrock. 10 Little River Regional Park&Natural Area Master Plan