3.6	Mountain Island Lake

Mountain Island Lake is located downstream of Lake Norman, northwest of Charlotte, in Lincoln, Mecklenburg, and Gaston counties, North Carolina. Mountain Island Lake has a surface area of about 2,914 acres and 86.5 shoreline miles at full pond elevation of 647.5 feet MSL.

3.6.1

Mountain Island Lake Shoreline Classification

Table 3.6-1 summarizes the shoreline classification for Mountain Island Lake, based on the July 2001 SMP maps.

Table 3.6-1.

Shoreline Classification for Mountain Island Lake

Shoreline Classification	Shoreline Miles	Percent of Total
Commercial /Non-Residential	0.0	0.0%
Commercial /Residential	0.6	0.7%
Residential	9.1	10.5%
Business Industrial	0.1	0.1%
Public Recreation	0.3	0.3%
Public Infrastructure	8.7	10.1%
Project Operations	3.2	3.7%
Future Commercial/Non-Residential	0.0	0.0%
Future Commercial/Residential	7.4	8.6%
Future Residential	3.3	3.8%
Future Public Recreation	21.9	25.3%
Impact Minimization Zones	3.6	4.2%
Impact Minimization Zones (Dev)	0.7	0.8%
Environmental Area	25.1	29.0%
Natural Area	2.5	2.9%
Total	86.5	100.0%

 

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3.6.2

Mountain Island Lake Shallow Water Fish Habitat Survey

Table 3.6-2.

Mountain Island Lake Shallow Water Habitat Shoreline Classifications (Miles)

Lake	Developed	Sand	Cobble	Woody Debris	Vegetated	Natural	Undeveloped No Critical Habitat	Total
Mtn. Island	9	3.4	1	0.6	26.8	2	36.9	80

3.6.3

Mountain Island Lake Cultural Resources Assessment

Within the Mountain Island Lake Study Area, there are 36 previously recorded cultural resources including 6 architectural resources and 30 archaeological sites. Architectural resources include 4 single dwellings, a mill, and a mill village. The architectural resources range in date from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, with most of the resources dating to the nineteenth century. The archeological sites range in date from the Early Archaic to the Historic cultural periods.

There are 16 prehistoric archaeological sites for which we do not have enough data to determine their specific function. At a majority of the prehistoric sites, only a limited amount of lithic artifacts were recovered. One site is an historic Catawba Indian occupation. Two other historic archaeological sites consist of the remains of cotton plantations.

There are no archaeological sites listed in the National Register. An agricultural site, the remains of a plantation dating to the 1760s, has been recommended as potentially eligible for listing in the National Register. It is a domestic site from the Historic period that contains plantation ruins.

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Two of the architectural resources are listed in the National Register. They are Latta Place and the Richard A. Rozelle House.

The information on both the archaeological and architectural sites from the state files is being used in preparation of the predictive model to assign the shoreline on Mountain Island Lake either a High, Medium, Low, or No probability for the occurrence of cultural resources. Prior to the completion of the model non-exempt activities such as excavation projects, commercial marina development, and certain conveyance projects will be provided to the appropriate SHPO for review before construction or excavation activity begins within the project boundary. To ensure the potential impact to cultural resources is properly evaluated after completion of the predictive model, Lake Management will review the predictive model for all non-exempt activities. Applicants for all non-exempt lake use permitting activities in medium and high probability areas will be required to consult with the appropriate SHPO regarding their proposal.

3.6.4

Mountain Island Lake Recreational Use and Carrying Capacity Assessment

Mountain Island Lake Existing Recreational Areas

There are 3 developed Duke Power-owned public recreational access locations (one leased to a city recreation agency) on Mountain Island Lake. In addition, there is 1 developed county nature preserve, 3 undeveloped county nature preserves, 1 proposed state educational forest, 1 city-owned conservation area, and 1 county-owned wildlife refuge along the Mountain Island Lake shoreline. Figure 3.6-1 denotes the location of the public recreational access locations. There are no public commercial non-residential and two commercial residential marinas on Mountain Island Lake. The following sections describe the Duke Power-owned public access area facilities at Mountain Island Lake.

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Click Here to View Full Figure 3.6-1 Mountain Island Lake Public Recreational Access Areas

The Mountain Island Tailrace Fishing Area has been recently leased to the City of Mount Holly for a city park. The City is planning to install 8 campsites, a restroom, an archery range, playground, picnic deck, canoe access and trails on the site.

Existing Duke Power-Owned Public Access Areas

The developed Duke Power-owned public access areas provide about 148 acres and about 7,328 feet of shoreline frontage of public access at Mountain Island Lake. Combined, the developed access areas have 6 public boat ramps, 3 loading piers, 2 fishing piers, and about 160 vehicle/trailer and 20 car parking spaces. Table 3.6-3 summarizes the facilities at the public access areas.

In the 1994 SMP, Duke Power proposed to improve the Riverbend access area (replace 3 ramps with 4 new boat ramps, replace 2 piers with 2 new loading piers and pave the parking lot). In addition Duke Power said it would add 31 acres to the Riverbend site (67 acres added). All of the recreation commitments from the1994 SMP have been met. In addition, at Neck Road access area Duke Power replaced the ramp with 2 new boat ramps, installed a loading pier, and paved, lighted the parking lot and added 3 acres of land to the site. At the Mountain Island Tailrace Fishing area, Duke Power built 2 fishing platforms and provided 49 acres of land.

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The NCWRC has entered into a creative partnership with Duke Power for the maintenance and operation of the non-leased access areas. Under this agreement Duke Power pays the NCWRC to maintain the access areas and the NCWRC makes at least the same capital dollar amount available to Duke Power, and agency lessees for the non boat launching portion of the access areas, for improvements that will help the boating public. This agreement is a continuation of a long established partnership with the NCWRC with the added benefit of designated cost sharing capital dollars for access area improvements.

Table 3.6-3.

Mountain Island Lake Duke Power-Owned Public Access Areas

Access Area Name	Acreage	Shoreline Frontage (ft)	Boat Ramps	Loading Piers	Fishing Piers	Car Parking (Spaces)	V/T Parking (Spaces)
Neck Road	8.9	724	2	1	0	0	60
Riverbend	89.7	3,285	4	2	0	0	100
Mountain Island Tailrace	49.2	3,319	0	0	2	20	0
Total	147.8	7,328	6	3	2	20	160

State and County Public Recreational Facilities

There is one developed county park (Latta Plantation Nature Preserve), and one county wildlife area (Cowan's Ford Wildlife Refuge), along the Mountain Island shoreline. Both facilities are owned and operated by Mecklenburg County. There are three undeveloped recreation areas: Auten Nature Preserve and Rural Hill Nature Preserve in Mecklenburg County, and the proposed State Educational Forest in Lincoln and Gaston counties. The City of Gastonia owns a conservation area south of Highway 16 along the shoreline in Gaston county. The City of Mount Holly is in the process of developing the Mountain Island Tailrace Fishing Area (leased from Duke Power) as a city park. Table 3.6-4 summarizes the recreational facilities provided at the Latta Plantation Nature Preserve. The facilities at Cowan's Ford Wildlife Refuge include a wildlife viewing platform.

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Table 3.6-4.

Summary of Latta Plantation Nature Preserve Public Recreational Facilities

Site Description/Facility	Number
Site Acreage	1,290
Shoreline Footage	48,000
Canoe Access	2
Canoe and Jon Boat Rental	1
Fishing Pier with 2 slips	1
Concession Areas	2
Gravel Parking Spaces	225
Beach Area	1
Horseshoe Pits	2
Equestrian Center	1
Historic Building	1
Horse Arenas	2
Horse Barns with 194 Stalls	4
Maintenance Facility and Office Complex	1 each
Picnic Tables	15
Raptor Center Hospital	1
Restroom Units	32
Shelters	2
Miles of Horseback Trails	14
Miles of Nature Trails	18
Volleyball Courts	2
Backyard Habitat Education Area	1
Caretaker’s Residence	1
34 Acre Piedmont Prairie Restoration Area	1

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Existing Commercial and Private Recreational Access

There are no public commercial non-residential and two commercial residential marinas on Mountain Island Lake. Private access to Mountain Island Lake is through private marinas and private piers along the Mountain Island Lake shoreline. Table 3.6-5 summarizes the number of commercial facilities. Table 3.6-6 provides the estimated number of private piers.

Table 3.6-5.

Summary of Mountain Island Lake Commercial Recreational Access Facilities

Type of Facility	Commercial Non-Residential	Commercial Residential
No. Public Marinas	0	0
No. Private Marinas	0	2
No. Wet Slips	0	287
No. Dry Slips	0	0

Table 3.6-6.

Summary of Mountain Island Lake Private Recreational Access Facilities

Type of Facility	No. Private Facilities
Piers	315

Mountain Island Lake Recreational Use Assessment

Visitation figures at the public access areas on Mountain Island Lake were derived based on estimates of the traffic entering the Duke Power-owned public access areas. Total estimated visitation during the 1999 study period for Mountain Island Lake at these sites was 99,135 visits. Figure 3.6-2 shows the distribution of the visitation for each month at Mountain Island Lake for the Duke Power-owned public access areas during the 1999 study period. A visit is considered a vehicle or vehicle/trailer entering the site for any part of a day.

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Figure 3.6-2.

Mountain Island Lake Estimate of Recreational Visitation at the Duke Power-Owned Access Areas

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Table 3.6-7 provides a summary of the estimated recreational visitation based on the traffic counter data for the sampled sites during the 1999 study period. Based on survey data input, the estimated ratio for annual visits to the project area for Survey B respondents (respondents that use both public and private access areas) compared to Survey C respondents (respondents at the public access areas) was a ratio of 1.3 to 1. The estimated overall recreational visitation for Mountain Island Lake for the 1999 study period totaled 125,750 visits.

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Table 3.6-7.

1999 Mountain Island Lake Estimated Recreational Visitation at Duke Power-Owned Access Areas

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Mountain Island Lake Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment

The overall boat carrying capacity is assessed based on the peak boating use estimates obtained during the flyovers in the 1999 study period. The available boating acreage was adjusted from the base boats per acreage estimate (see Table 3.6-8) by the following factors (Warren and Rea, 1989, as modified):

Factor		Adjustment
1.	Location of the lake in relation to population served	0
2.	Multiple use of water area	-
3.	Shoreline configuration	-
4.	Amount of open water	-
5.	Amount of facility and shoreline development	0
6.	Crowding rating	0
	Total	-3

Table 3.6-8.

Boat Type Acreage Adjustment (Source:  Modified from Warren and Rea, 1989)

Boat Activity Type	Low	-4	-3	-2	-1	Base	1	2	3	4	High
Fishing	10.0	9.0	8.0	6.0	5.0	4.3	4.0	3.3	3.0	2.3	2.0
Canoe/Kayak	2.5	2.3	2.0	1.8	1.5	1.3	1.1	1.0	0.8	0.7	0.5
Motor Boating	18.0	17.0	15.0	13.0	11.0	9.0	8.0	7.0	6.0	5.0	3.0
Sailing	10.0	9.0	8.0	6.0	5.0	4.3	4.0	3.3	3.0	2.3	2.0
Jet Skiing	10.0	9.0	8.0	6.0	5.0	4.3	4.0	3.3	3.0	2.3	2.0
Water Skiing	20.0	18.0	17.0	15.0	14.0	12.0	11.0	10.0	9.0	8.0	7.0

Table 3.6-9 summarizes the assessment of the optimum overall boat capacity based on the usable water surface acreage and the boating activity mix identified from the surveys. Table 3.6-10 provides the assessment of the percent capacity of the boat use for Mountain Island Lake on the peak day during the 1999 study period. Mountain Island Lake during the weekday was estimated at 20 percent capacity, during the weekend at 36 percent capacity, and during the peak holiday period at 25 percent capacity for overall boating use.

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Table 3.6-9.

Mountain Island Lake Boat Carrying Capacity Assessment

Boat Activity	Usable Acreage	Use Factor	Opt. No. Boats	% Usage	Boat Activity Mix	Persons/ Boat	Total Users
Fishing	3,281	8.0	410	40%	164	3.14	515
Canoe/Kayak	3,281	2.0	1,641	11%	181	3.26	590
Motor Boating	2,241	15.0	149	32%	47	3.90	185
Sailing	2,241	8.0	280	0%	-	3.36	-
Jet Skiing	2,241	8.0	280	8%	23	3.85	89
Water Skiing	2,241	17.0	132	9%	12	4.39	54
Total				100%	427		1,433

Table 3.6-10.

Mountain Island Lake Estimated 1999 Study Period Boat Capacity

Peak Use	Weekday	% Capacity	Weekend	% Capacity	Holiday	% Capacity
No. Boats	86	20%	152	36%	107	25%

The optimum boat carrying capacity assessment provides an assessment of the total surface area available for boating use. To as