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317 <br /> ltl North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 0 <br /> M. Kyle Briggs, Executive Director <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> TO: Lyn Biles,Environmental Assistance and SEPA Coordinator <br /> NCDENR Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Services <br /> FROM: Olivia Munzer,Western Piedmont Coordinator <br /> Habitat Conservation <br /> DATE: 24 September 2025 <br /> SUBJECT: Environmental Assessment for the Emerson Waldorf School Expansion in Chapel Hill, <br /> Orange County,North Carolina. DEQ No. 26-0042. <br /> Biologists with the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission(NCWRC)have reviewed the subject <br /> document. Comments are provided in accordance with provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination <br /> Act(48 Stat. 401, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 661-667e)and North Carolina General Statutes (G.S. 113-131 <br /> et seq.). <br /> Waldorf Educational Association of NC, Inc.has submitted a Special Use Permit Application and <br /> Environmental Assessment for the expansion of the Emerson Waldorf School located on 54-acre site at <br /> 6211 New Jericho Road in Chapel Hill in Orange County,North Carolina. The purpose of the project is to <br /> construct new buildings and support facilities within the existing school campus. <br /> According to the documents provided,one unnamed tributary to Old Field Creek in the Cape Fear River <br /> Basin flows through the site,and New Hope Creek flows north of the site. The project will not impact the <br /> streams or their buffers. The applicant submitted a Biological Inventory Report that characterizes the <br /> area;however,the report is from 2015. The proposed federally endangered and state endangered <br /> tricolored bat(Perimyotis subflavus)and federally proposed threatened monarch butterfly(Danaus <br /> plexippus)could occur at the site if suitable habitat is present. <br /> We have no concerns about the expansion of the school since the Emerson Waldorf School if the school <br /> retains stream buffers and minimal wildlife habitat is impacted by the project. We offer the following <br /> preliminary recommendations with the intent of minimizing impacts on aquatic and terrestrial wildlife <br /> resources: <br /> 1. We recommend minimizing the amount of tree clearing, especially of large hardwoods. For any <br /> new construction,build within the open pasture so forested areas can be left undisturbed. <br /> 2. We recommend not clearing trees during the coldest winter months(December 15 to February <br /> 14) and pup rearing months(April 15 to July 31)to minimize impacts to the tricolored bat. <br /> Mailing Address: Habitat Conservation • 1721 Mail Service Center • Raleigh,NC 27699-1721 <br /> Telephone: (919) 707-0220 • Fax: (919) 707-0028 <br />