Trout Resource Protections

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US Army Corps of Engineers

Wilmington District Website

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Regulatory Permit Program

Trout Resources in Western NC

This page provides maps of watersheds in Western North Carolina that have protections or special conditions due to trout resources.

For RGPs and NWPs, permittees are required to 1) obtain approval from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and furnish a copy of the letter to the Wilmington District Corps of Engineers prior to discharging dredged or fill material into waters of the United States within the 294 designated trout watersheds of North Carolina and/or 2) submit a PCN to the district engineer prior to any discharge of dredge or fill material into waters of United States within the 294 designated trout watersheds of North Carolina, unless other thresholds are established in the Regional Conditions. Counties that are wholly or partially located in a trout watershed are listed on this web page.

Counties that are entirely within trout watersheds:

* Alleghany * Ashe * Avery * Graham * Haywood * Jackson * Macon * Swain * Transylvania * Watauga

Counties that have some trout watersheds within are listed below. Links are to maps that show protected waters in each county (in PDF format):

ALL NC Trout Watersheds: Map Data - KMZ map format (updated 5/10/2017- save file by right click, save file as....)

Trout Links

NC Wildlife Resources Commission - Trout

Designated Public Mountain Trout Waters

Is this the same as DWR Trout classified waters?

A state fishery management classification administered by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission which provides for public access to streams for fishing on private and public lands. It regulates fishing activities only (seasons, size limits, creel limits, and bait and lure restrictions) and is not the same classification as the DWR Trout classification which protects water quality.