Agenda 11-02-23; 4-a - Resolution Endorsing Consensus Principles II for Revised Falls Lake Rules

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=54 The representatives from agriculture that participate in UNRBA meetings and workgroups have noted that an expanded outreach effort is needed as the revised strategy is developed. These representatives (Farm Bureau and NCDA&CS/DSWC) have begun these discussions to gage farmer interest in these concepts and offered to continue these discussions as rule making progresses. The UNRBA would provide support to these discussions as requested and directed by the agricultural representatives. Forest Lands Forest lands comprise approximately sixty percent of the Falls Lake watershed. Forests are an important part of a healthy ecosystem as they store, cycle, and release nutrients. Atmospheric deposition in dry and wet forms provides continual inputs of nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon to all land and water surfaces including forested areas. Natural breakdown of forest debris contributes nutrients to the system. Many stakeholders have expressed the importance of preserving and protecting forested areas in the Falls Lake watershed. Sediment, nutrient, and carbon loading rates from forests are heavily influenced by hydrologic conditions. Antecedent conditions are important to consider as a dry forest will hold more rainfall than a saturated forest. Destructive storms that disturb the root zone of trees can result in much higher loads of nitrate for an extended period of time (Yeakley et al. 2003, Schaefer et al. 2000, Hogan et al. 2020). Researchers in Norway are evaluating change to atmospheric deposition of nitrate and sulfate on changes to the biogeochemical processes in forested areas (Deininger et al. 2020). Their findings indicate that "declining sulfur deposition, through reducing the ionic strength in soil water, increases the solubility and mobility of organic soil compounds and may result in increased leaching of organically bound N [nitrogen] to freshwaters." Similar observations of decreased inorganic nitrogen loads coupled with increased organic nitrogen loads were noted in DWR's 20-yr status report for the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico Estuaries (DWR 2023, draft). Based on the work of the Scenario Screening Group,there are projects and activities that can be implemented to reduce nutrient inputs and exports from forests. The UNRBA recommends that these activities be considered as eligible under the revised nutrient management strategy. Again, the UNRBA does not recommend that these would be regulatory requirements, but rather opportunities for local governments and other Tier 1 Watershed Organization members to invest in activities that would improve water quality and quantity. The first three bullets are currently included in the IAIA Program; the remaining bullets represent an expansion of the Program: • Forest preservation • Stream, wetland, and buffer restoration/enhancement • Floodplain expansion • Enhancement of Forestry Best Management Practices: stream crossings, haul roads, temporary skid trails, etc. • Consideration of water usage by tree species in forestry management • Nitrate capture/denitrification following large, destructive storms through temporary active treatment or passive treatment to enhance denitrification in an improved hyporheic zone • Controlled burns, harvesting, forest management, vegetation management(native/non-native) • Phytoremediation (using plants to clean up contaminated environments) While there are contiguous areas of forests in the watershed, these typically are fractured in terms of ownership. Projects and activities that affect multiple owners will complicate implementation. The Watershed Organization would need to foster relationships with the associations listed and other 35