CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Ellen Colodney nurtures nearly 200 native plant 

 species at her Edenton nursery. • Greg May says native plants play a role in 

 protecting water quality. • Bald cypress seedlings thrive at the Coastal Conservation 

 Nursery. • Plant communities provide habitat for myriad wildlife. 



Chowan County's Soil and Water Conservation 

 District for an extensive project on the Chowan 

 County Golf Course. They targeted a series of 

 eyesore ditches that once dumped stormwater 

 runoff directly into the Albemarle Sound. 



The stunning transformation now boasts 

 meandering streams and wetland sites featuring 

 native plant communities that provide texture 

 and tone to the landscape. 



"Most golfers see a beautiful landscape, 

 not hardworking ecosystems that are taking up 

 nutrients that exceed the input from the golfing 

 greens," Colodney points out. 



OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS 



When Barbara Doll, North Carolina 

 Sea Grant water quality specialist, designs a 

 remediation project, you can be sure native 

 plants are in the plans. She often turns to 

 Colodney for advice as well as plants. 



Phase I of Doll's Farmville Country 

 Club restoration project is on the ground and 



functioning as 

 designed: to 

 restore a stream 

 on a tributary 

 of the Little 

 Contentnea 

 Creek, a 58- 

 square-mile 

 watershed 

 that drains to 

 Contentnea 

 Creek and the 

 Neuse River. 



"The 

 visibility, and the 

 unprecedented 

 cooperation of 

 the golf course 

 manager and 

 members, 



provided an ideal opportunity to develop 

 a project to demonstrate water quality 

 enhancement techniques on a localized scale," 

 Doll explains. 



The goal was to eliminate straight 

 ditches, build habitat and improve aesthetics. A 

 $100,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental 

 Protection Agency, combined with in-kind 

 efforts from golf course members, accomplished 

 those goals. In addition, attractive engraved 

 granite signs at each of the three restoration 

 sites along the 1 8-hole golf course provide 

 information about the contribution of wetlands 

 to water quality. 



At one time, straight ditching was a 

 common technique for handling drainage, says 

 Greg May, club president and acting manager. 

 The problem is that ditching speeds water flow, 

 causing erosion, carries harmful sediments and 

 contributes to downstream flooding. 



"The restoration project is all about water 

 quality," May says. "I'm glad we can help 



people understand the importance of water 

 quality. Our members are excited about the next 

 phase that will improve another 1,000 feet along 

 the Little Contentnea, which flows through 

 Farmville." 



Doll's outdoor classroom also has attracted 

 visitors from a Greenville area golf course, 

 where members are considering a similar 

 remediation project. 



The Farmville Country Club's modern 

 conservation efforts are a fitting tribute to its 

 own history. The original nine holes of the 

 course were constructed in 1932 by the Federal 

 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which was 

 authorized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to 

 put folks to work during the Great Depression, 

 says Judy Groet, who manages the pro shop. 



The primary work of the CCC was erosion 

 control, but the agency also made outstanding 

 contributions to the development of recreational 

 facilities across the nation. 



SWAT TEAM 



Typically, the stormwater Best 

 Management Practice (BMP) equation goes 

 something like this: structural changes + native 

 plants = reduced flooding, improved water 

 quality, reduced mosquito populations and 

 increased biodiversity. 



But recent scares of mosquito-borne 

 diseases have caused restoration engineers to 

 take a closer look at constructed wetlands and 

 wet pond BMPs. 



A recent study by North Carolina State 

 University's William Hunt and Charles Apperson 

 concluded that stormwater BMP designers can 

 incorporate design features and management 

 strategies that will limit mosquito growth. 



• Use deep pools to encourage water flow 

 and mosquito predation. 



• Site the BMP where mosquitoes already 

 exist. Don't create a new mosquito habitat. 



■' Employ simple management strategies, 

 such as removal of unwanted plant species on an 

 annual basis, to maintain existing facilities. 



• Choose vegetation that will help 

 control mosquitoes, including duck potato, 

 arrowhead, spatterdock, pickerel weed and salt 

 marsh bulrush. These species attract predators 

 of mosquito larvae, such as frogs, reptiles, birds, 

 fish and dragonfiies. 



8 Avoid cattail and common reed, species 

 that can block predatory fish from reaching 

 larvae. 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 13 



