Friends of Bolin Creek asked that the development meet the new Jordan Lake nutrient standards.  Several aldermen asked the developer to honor the standard that would be in place in June but he declined. The rezoning was granted unanimously. For more details read the Carrboro Citizen story.

Mary Sonis commented on this story. “I don’t think it is a wise idea to put 92 houses on a pasture that slopes directly downhill to Bolin Creek. When the developer respectfully declined to meet the new water standards, the board of aldermen had the power to respectfully decline to approve the rezoning. Adding commercial space may benefit the builder in a changing market, but the entire development will be a burden on the school system, and the taxpayers who already own homes in the neighborhood. So, the developer will make a profit…but the creek will be damaged. Our natural resources belong to everyone.”

   Friends of Bolin Creek Statement to Board of Aldermen

Friends of Bolin Creek’s mission is to protect the Bolin Creek Watershed which has been identified by the State DWQ and EPA as a 303 (d) impaired stream. Carrboro and Chapel Hill have received EPA grants to improve the health of the creek. Our community greatly values this natural treasure.

In February of 2012 we sponsored a water quality forum attended by two members of your Board. At the symposium, “Can We Heal Our Local Waterways?” we identified measures that can be taken by homeowners, governments and utilities to address our local water quality problems to improve and protect our creek water quality. This plan for Claremont South does not meet these measures; it directly poses a threat to Bolin Creek and the Town of Carrboro for the following reasons.

First, Carrboro is now required by state law to reduce nutrient loading into Jordan Lake by 35% total nitrogen and 5% total phosphorus from the 1997-2001 baseline level. Carrboro is in the Upper New Hope subwatershed of the Cape Fear basin. Of the three subwatersheds feeding Jordan Lake, this subwatershed has the largest nutrient reduction requirements. The plan for Claremont South will increase the amount of nutrients currently entering Bolin Creek and thus Jordan Lake. If you pass this development as it is proposed, Carrboro will have to eventually address this nutrient loading. It is far more effective and much cheaper to address reductions before development is put in place. If this plan is passed, taxpayers will have to foot the bill for “retrofits” to try and address this problem down the line.

Second, this development contains a very high percentage of impervious surface. While the proposed sediment ponds may address peak flows of stormwater, they do not address the total volume of stormwater entering Bolin Creek. This will result in erosive flows, reduction of groundwater, and decreased water quality. These are the same issues which have led to Bolin Creek’s impairment, which we are now struggling to mitigate.

Carrboro has taken many progressive actions to protect creeks and the environment, such as establishing stream buffers. Do not let a hasty move here undermine the long term economic and environmental health of Carrboro. It is a lot cheaper to bring about reductions up from with a new development rather then coming back and retrofitting existing development after the fact.

You have approved these rules in draft and when they are approved by the State in June they will be a Carrboro requirement.  Please be proactive and ask the developer as a condition of this development to meet the nutrient standard which will become a formal requirement in a few months.

Need any other info?

tom driscoll
chapel hill, nc usa
spttdrdshnk@yahoo.com

Help Haw River Assembly and Friends of Bolin assess the health of our own Bolin Creek.

Sunday, April 15, 1:00PM,
The big bridge at Umstead Park, Umstead Drive, Chapel Hill
If you have questions, contact Betsy.

• See how our creek is doing
• Learn about creek critters
• Kids welcome
• Contribute to the Haw River Assembly Streamwatch Program

We will use simple water chemistry tests as well as macroinvertebrate bioindicators to assess our current creek health. Bring water shoes!

They could have been in the same pulpit on World Water Day.

The American intelligence community got together on a report with alarming predictions, all of which are likely to be realized: floods and water shortages over the next 30 years that will press many countries to maintain fresh water supplies, which in turn will affect food markets, which will mean instability in governments, which may lead to wars over water.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/03/24/1954136/water-woes.html#storylink=cpy

• Bolin Creek, Saturday March 24th at Chapel Hill Community Center, 1 – 3 pm
• Jolly Branch, Monday, March 26th at Chapel Hill High School, 4 – 5:30 pm

Call Betsy Kempter at 919-942-2583 for further information

News flash about a watershed event! Participate in a Symposium and Community Exchange, “Can We Heal Our Local Waterways?” from 9 – 1:00 pm on February 11th, 2012 at the UNC Botanical Garden, our co-sponsor and host.  Join us to hear about the current water quality problems and actions needed to restore our urban streams. Attend or participate in the Community Exchange to connect with others interested in making a difference for water quality and the environment. Here are the facts and the agenda for the Symposium and the Community Exchange. Register here for the Children’s Program.

This is cause for celebration by everyone from wood ducks to local environmentalists who want to see our rapidly disappearing natural places conserved.  For the last few years, a local developer tried repeatedly to convince the Chapel Hill Town Council to change the low-density zoning of this tract to allow a high-density condo project.  In June of 2011, the Council denied the rezoning once and for all.

The proposed condo project would have covered over three-fourths of the tract, paving the steep, forested slopes adjacent to the federal wetlands and wildlife impoundment.   These public lands are permanent wildlife lands and serve as mitigation for adverse impacts to animal habitat from the construction of Jordan Lake.  The forested upland buffers, like the new UNC tract, protect habitat and water quality of Jordan Lake, a major regional water supply.

We encourage good stewardship of this special tract by the University of North Carolina.

The two most interesting conclusions that emerged from this discussion:

• After Chapel Hill and Carroboro citizens, some Trailhead members, and avid runners made a case for not closing key sections of the Pumpkin Loop, Chair Gordon Merklein described the following options: (1) keep the Pumpkin Loop open as is; (2) convert Pumpkin Loop to a narrower double-track trail, or (3) least preferred, provide a dual surface on the Duct Bank Greenway. The latter was the original UNC proposal of closing the trails and reforestation. UNC will look into whether putting a non-paved path beside the paved Duct Bank trail is possible.

• UNC Director of Planning, Bruce Runberg announced that UNC will schedule two additional public meetings, one in January and one in June each year, three months respectively before each Carolina North report to the Chapel Hill Town Council. The public can make comments to UNC concerning any topic to do with Carolina North.  It is assumed that UNC Facilities will host these meetings.

It is refreshing and impressive that UNC will make this opportunity available to citizens. For the past two years, Neighbors for Responsible Growth and others have petitioned the Chapel Hill Town Council to follow through with a way for citizens to give input on detailed plans as they come along.  See June 2009 resolution that directed the development of a plan for the future implementation of the Carolina North Development Agreement. (2009-06-22/R-13)

The reason for the proposed UNC trail changes stem… from requirements in the Carolina North Development Agreement signed in June 2009. It appears UNC intended to close trail sections to compensate for tree canopy lost to the construction of the major duct bank of utilities already under construction. The Agreement also requires a paved “greenway” to be installed on top of the duct bank. Many at the meeting were unhappy with both proposals, but were pleased that Chair Gordon Merklein provided the special meeting to hear concerns about the utility construction and changes to adjacent running trails.

Other information emerged at the meeting. UNC will soon hire a consultant to design the “greenway.” This engineering firm and UNC’s landscape consultant will coordinate with three groups: Campus Bicycle-Pedestrian group, the Chapel Hill Greenways commission and the Carolina North Trails & Forest Advisory Committee. UNC is uncertain that a soft surface trail can be co-located with the paved trail, although much discussion centered around this for safety reasons and also that an informal path would most likely result if no surface was provided.

Regarding the duct bank “greenway” called for in the Carolina North Development Agreement, some meeting participants are convinced a non-paved surface would suffice admirably as a transit connection, as well as a running path. Although UNC did not recommend any change to the paved surface, meeting participants were cheered that UNC will make efforts to see the Pumpkin Loop sections are kept open in some fashion.

The utility installation will clear 40 foot wide of woods running the length of the main acreage encompassed by Carolina North. The utility duct bank will serve electricity and internet to existing buildings south of Estes Drive, as well as new buildings on Carolina North. The new UNC campus will ultimately rival the current downtown campus in size. The duct bank, in addition, will contain a gas line pipe that will capture methane gases from the Orange County landfill. While a 40-foot-wide corridor has been cleared, UNC said they plan to revegetate all but the 10 feet for the greenway.

]]> http://bolincreek.org/blog/2011/11/28/unc-asks-for-input-on-proposed-carolina-north-trail-changes/feed/ 0 http://bolincreek.org/blog/2011/11/20/animals-along-bolin-creek-by-mary-sonis/ http://bolincreek.org/blog/2011/11/20/animals-along-bolin-creek-by-mary-sonis/#comments Sun, 20 Nov 2011 02:55:32 +0000 admin http://bolincreek.org/blog/?p=1320 Continue reading →]]> This week I have been surprised with the animals that just allow you to walk right up to them.  The rut is about over,  but this young buck doesn’t seem to realize that he is supposed to be skittish.  Of course this is not “Big Daddy”..but I was still rather amused by his boldness.  It just makes my job easier.
And here we have the Virginia Opossum. People are never very excited about Opossum ..but they are fascinating creatures. This particular female has discovered our birdfeeder. She visits nightly to collect the spilled bird seed,  and is very relaxed about our presence on the scene. Quite the wide mouthed yawn. If you disturb or corner an Opossum,  they stand with their mouth agape and show you their fifty teeth. They never attack, unless you actually try to pick them up..and even then ,  they are likely to collapse and simply “play possum”  The playing possum might be involuntary…a neurological response to stress…but it serves the possum fairly well.   Often a dog will give up on prey that appears to be dead. The opossum adds to the act by releasing a slightly foul smelling musk from its anal glands. These peaceful creatures are North America’s only Marsupial.  The female opossum has a placenta that is not well developed. Her multiple young are born after about a fourteen day gestation. Each little opossum is about the size of a raisin,  and is still in an embryonic state. The mother licks her abdomen to slick the fur,  and each tiny Opossum must crawl to her pouch (marsupium) and latch on to one of her 13 teats. Some of them never complete the crawl.  For the next 2 months ,  the youngsters stay in the pouch.  Eventually they climb out and ride around on their mother’s back.
Opossums are not fast, their hearing isn’t acute, and their vision is ordinary. They are however,  superb climbers. The tail is not truly prehensile. It is not strong enough to hold up an adult animal, but it is used as an extra limb … or brace while climbing.
Like us, Opossums are true omnivores,  and will eat almost anything .  Much of their diet is scavenged. They will eat carrion , and anything else that they happen to find. Sadly, many die on roads eating roadkill.  The habit of standing still when confronted is  one of the main reasons that they perish on the road.
Did I mention that Opossums don’t have a lot of sense? They toddle through life taking little notice of the possible dangers around them.  Dogs kill Opossums easily. They also fall prey to Owls, Fox,  and Coyotes.  Fortunately… we are a friendly group around here!  Here’s something else that serves the Opossum well. The are naturally resistant to snake venom,  and rarely carry rabies. Their body temperature is too low for the rabies virus to thrive.
Finally, take a look at that hind foot. She has an opposable digit on her paw. Great for climbing trees. That thumb- like digit never has a toenail. The life expectancy of a wild Opossum is estimated to be two or three years. Poor little creature just gets tangled up with too many cars and predators.
When I first saw this on a tree trunk in the distance..I thought it was some kind of odd tree fungus…
But look at that..an Eastern Red Bat. The Red bat was doing exactly what they do during the day,  resting on a tree. This is our most common forest bat in North America. They usually rest hanging higher up in trees..and look like leaves dangling. This one chose to roost lower on the tree trunk.  She did not fly off when I approached, so I had plenty of time to observe her. After I left, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
So long from the Bolin Creek forest.

–Mary