The Nickajack Naturalist

Wild Hogs in Marion County

                                                                           From Nooga.com

Wildlife officers in Marion County are conducting intensive eradication efforts on wild hogs that have invaded one section of the county.   Read more.

Exploring the Historic Sequatchie River

                              The Sequatchie Valley near Dunlap.                                               Photo:  Bob Butters

                                                                                From Nooga.com

  The Sequatchie River flows through 70 miles of the Sequatchie Valley, the long and narrow divide separating the western Cumberland Plateau from Walden's Ridge.  Throughout time, the river has played a major role in the cultural and natural history of the Sequatchie Valley.  Today, this historic waterway offers slow and easy paddling opportunities, as well as the chance to enjoy the Sequatchie Valley's breathtaking landscape by water.  Read more.                

Nature and the Economy

Mark Tercek is president and CEO of the Nature Conservancy, a job he came to after serving as a managing director at Goldman Sachs.  Jonathon Adams is a science writer.  Together, they've written Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature.  This is a book I wish could be read by everyone who believes a choice must be made between the economy and the natural environment.  The authors argue that "nature is not only the foundation of human well being, but also the smartest commercial investment any business or government can make".  They provide examples from places around America and the globe, including South America, New York City, Louisiana, the California coast, Micronesia, and Texas, where economic interests have learned there is benefit in protecting nature.

  This is a philosophy I've held for years now, that the best way to ultimately save the natural world, and human civilization in the process, is to find ways to put a dollar figure on the benefits of a healthy and bio-diverse environment.

  To learn more about or to purchase the book, click on the link in the sidebar under Recommended Books.

Bob Butters

Note:  In full disclosure, if you buy this or any product from Amazon.com by linking from this site, I'll get a small commission.  

Sequatchie Caddisfly Featured on Tennessee Wild Side

     

    Owen Spring Branch flows from the cave at Sequatchie Cave State Natural Area.    Photo:  Bob Butters

  The rare Sequatchie Caddisfly was recently featured on a segment of the Tennessee Wild Side TV program.   Click here to learn more and to see the four minute video.  Owen Spring Branch, home of the Sequatchie Caddisfly, flows from a cave on the ten acre Sequatchie Cave Class II Natural-Scientific State Natural Area, located in the Marion County town of Sequatchie.  See a related post from July 2013 here.   Visit TDEC's page about the Sequatchie Cave State Natural Area here.    

 

Sequatchie Cove Adventure

 

  On a chilly day in mid-January, Kim and I, along with our two canine cohorts, Lucy and Camo, headed into the wilds of Sequatchie Cove to search for a spot I've been wanting to locate for nearly twenty years.  Shortly after I became aware of the existence of Sequatchie Cove back in the mid-Nineties, I was told about a place where much of the water in the lower section of the Little Sequatchie River emerged from the ground.

   The Little Sequatchie River is a 19.6 mile long tributary of the Sequatchie River.  It flows primarily through a 15 or so mile long canyon known as Sequatchie Cove, the majority of which is in Marion County, TN.  With several smaller canyons, or coves, feeding into each side, it's a wild and remote area comprising over 25,000 acres.  Most of the land, once owned by several large companies such as U.S. Steel, has been purchased in recent years by residential developers, but still remains largely intact.

   A very rough and rocky jeep road follows alongside the Little Sequatcie River with numerous crossings, or fords.  Even though the mouth of the cove is just a few miles from my house, because of the difficulty of driving or hiking through it, I've not done a lot of exploring there.  Years ago, I mountain biked in over five miles from the end of the pavement, with eleven river crossings each way.

   The plan was to drive to the first big river crossing, then park and hike in another half mile to where we hoped to find the spring, making about one mile of hiking.  But, as the river level was higher than usual, the road was under water well before we reached the first crossing.  So we parked there and hiked a smaller trail that took us around that section and back into the road.  So what had been planned as a one mile hike turned into an eight mile hike.

 The big ford where we had originally planned to start our hike.

 

  We discovered a waterfall dropping into a deep pit, which turned out to be above the spring we were looking for.  I later learned this is called Niagra Well, and that it drops into a cave that is 150 ft. deep and 3,000 ft. long.

  At long last, we came upon Sequatchie Spring, where an impressive amount of water flows from the base of the mountain and creates a stream which adds significantly to the flow of the lower section of the Little Sequatchie River.

 Another part of the springs.  

 Sequatchie Cove is a significant natural treasure, popular with off-road enthusiasts, but little known by the rest of the outdoor recreation community.  Soon after I learned of its existence many years ago, I felt it could make a great Big South Fork style National Recreation Area.  While I don't expect that to happen, I still believe it would be a shame to lose all of it to residential development.  The cove is known to be a bio-diversity hotspot and has tremendous potential for outdoor recreation.  So I continue to promote the idea of saving as much of it as possible.  While I've found an interest among people who are aware of the cove, it's been dificult to find solid ideas as to how that might be achieved.

 

Bob Butters                                                                                           All photos:  Bob Butters