Brushy Fork Environmental Consulting is working with North Carolina Department of Transportation to establish an umbrella mitigation bank in the Watauga River Watershed.  The first site includes Linville Creek and three of its tributaries in Vilas, North Carolina totaling ±5,729 linear feet. Transportation projects in the Watauga River Watershed have resulted in unavoidable impacts to regulated streams, creating a vital need to mitigate for aquatic losses in the area. Linville Creek and the associated tributaries are physically and ecologically degraded, yet hydrologically significant, providing a unique opportunity to offset the impacts of transportation development by returning these streams to their natural state through multiple restoration efforts.

The restoration of this site will provide significant functional lift in order to mitigate the impacts of transportation development in the area. Natural Channel Stream Design will be implemented along with agricultural BMPs on the project sites. With these efforts, the restored streams will endure and provide excellent plant and animal habitat and improved water quality to the Watauga River Basin.