Tennessee Rivers Assessment Project
Summary Report - 1998

How Were Tennessee's Rivers and Streams Evaluated?

A project the size of the Tennessee Rivers Assessment requires many steps. Early work involved strategy and planning sessions when Steering Committee members, conservation groups and individuals voiced their interests. From these meetings, standing committees were established. These committees developed appropriate questions and identified sources of available information. The challenges for each category were different, and each committee developed a unique way of meeting these challenges. Each committee had in common a desire to describe the river resources as accurately as possible.

The following pages contain data for four of the categories that were evaluated:

• NATURAL AND SCENIC QUALITIES. The overall aesthetic values were addressed in the Natural And Scenic Qualities category. A committee was formed to identify key issues about the aesthetics of each river corridor. A series of questions with specific instructions about how to answer the questions was established. Information was collected by over 250 knowledgeable Tennesseans and by personnel with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Pollution Control.

There were five key questions:

What is the extent of stream modification?

How exceptional are the natural features associated with the river segment?

What is the extent of development along the river segment?

What is the distance between bridges?

What is the overall impression of the river segment?

The results paint a picture of what the corridor looks like from the river and how much human modification is evident.

• RECREATIONAL BOATING. This category described the boating opportunities in each river corridor. A committee was formed to identify key issues about boating. A series of questions was formed and specific instructions about how to answer the questions were established. Information was collected by over 250 knowledgeable Tennesseans and by personnel with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Pollution Control field offices.

There were nine key questions:

Is the river segment recognized in a publication as a recreation area?

Does the river segment pass through federal or state property?

What is the public access?

What is the boating opportunity (multi-use)?

How many months of the year can the river segment be used?

What are the overall scenic and natural qualities?

What is the overall impression of water quality?

How close is the river segment to a major metropolitan area?

Does using the river segment benefit the regional economy?

By using this approach, the results indicate recreational opportunities instead of current usage patterns.

• RECREATIONAL FISHING. This category addressed the components that make up a successful recreational fishing experience. A committee was established to identify the key issues in describing a productive fishing experience. Information originated from stream surveys conducted by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and the results were reviewed by the appropriate TWRA regional office staff.

The key questions were:

What are the variety of fishes found in warm or cool water river segments?

What are the variety of fishes found in cold water river segments?

What is the average weight of sportfish in a river segment?

What is the average length of trout in a river segment?

What is the abundance of sportfish in a river segment?

How easy is it to get to the river segment?

This approach identifies river segments that are likely spots of angler satisfaction.

• WATER QUALITY. This category is a summary of the 1996 305(b) Report: The Status of Water Quality in Tennessee. This biennial report is produced by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Pollution Control, and describes the current status of rivers and streams across the state.

SCORING SYSTEM FOR CATEGORIES

NATURAL AND SCENIC QUALITIES (NSQ)

RECREATIONAL BOATING (RB)

RECREATIONAL FISHING (RF)

WATER QUALITY (WQ)*

*Data are from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Water Pollution Control (TDEC/WPC) 1996 305(b) Report: The Status of Water Quality in Tennessee. The Division of Water Pollution Control should be contacted for any information or interpretation of the status of water quality in Tennessee.

If a line in a table looks like this:

More Details

STREAM DESCRIPTION

You can interpret it this way:

• Part of Town Creek has statewide or greater significance for natural and scenic qualities

• Part of Town Creek has regional significance and part has local significance for recreational boating

• Town Creek was not evaluated for recreational fishing

• Water Quality fully supports designated use for Town Creek

Not all of the information collected is in this book. Some will be presented in a companion technical document on the internet. Three categories not appearing in this book are:

• CULTURAL RESOURCES. This category addresses the archaeological and historical resources in each river corridor. Two data sets were collected: 1)sites on the National Register of Historic Places and 2)sites of known prehistoric and historic archaeological sites. The data were collected from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, and the Tennessee Historical Commission.
  
  The data sets were interpreted by an archaeologist at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Nashville District. The site locations were corrected for latitude and longitude errors. The results signify the amount of knowledge collected by archaeologists rather than a comprehensive listing of all archaeological sites. In order to protect these sites, the information will be presented in general terms in the technical document.
  
• BIOCORRIDOR. The biocorridor includes the water, stream banks and floodplain. It includes both the physical and biological features. Data sets include river segments listed in the National Rivers Inventory, segments that are located within national or state parks, forests, wildlife areas, natural areas and designated scenic rivers. Information was also collected on fish and mussel populations, emphasizing expected fish distributions for all rivers & and streams of Tennessee. Additional information was collected about the presence of rare plants and animals within the corridor by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Natural Heritage.
  
  Information came from a variety of sources. Listings in the National Rivers Inventory, compiled by the National Park Service and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, represent free-flowing rivers and streams of some significance. River segments flowing through state and federal properties were identified by using a computerized mapping program that allows identification of rivers intersecting public lands. Designated State Scenic Rivers (segments) are listed in the Tennessee Codes Annotated. This program is administered by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Finally, complete fish inventories were conducted by Tennessee Technological University in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Nashville District.
  
  Current activities include working with the Nature Conservancy to develope an aquatic communities classification and a complete fish species inventory for the major rivers and streams of Tennessee. The inventory will include locations where native fishes can be found, as well as their ecological preferences and some biological characteristics.
  
  Information on the biocorridor will be presented in the technical document.
  
• NAVIGATION. This category is a compilation of information provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Tennessee Valley Authority and private engineering/consulting firms.