The Nickajack Naturalist

TN Aquarium-led Partnership Secures $10 Million in Federal Funds to Improve Water Quality, Farming in Southeast TN

Casey Phillips - Tennessee Aquarium

A crimper is attached to the back of a tractor on a farm in the Sequatchie River Valley. A relatively recent agricultural technique, crimping has been shown to reduce farmers’ input costs and improve soil quality. Recently, USDA approved funneling $10 million into a six-county region of Southeast Tennessee. This money will fuel conservation-minded improvements for landowners, including lowering the cost to rent equipment like crimpers and subsidize the planting of cover crops to improve soil health and reduce sedimentation in nearby streams.                                   (Photo: TN Aquarium)

Tennessee is as much a patchwork quilt of farms as an intricately woven lacework of streams and rivers. Soon, farmers and the aquatic life living alongside them will reap the benefits of $10 million in federal funds to support water-friendly agricultural improvements in the rolling uplands of the state’s southeastern corner.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the allocation of more than $197 million to support Regional Conservation Partnership Programs throughout the nation. These initiatives promote coordination between USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and partnering organizations that are already engaged in conservation efforts.

Read more.

An aerial view shows the 700-acre sprawl of Jimmy Standefer’s farm in the Sequatchie River Valley at the base of Walden Ridge. Standefer has been making use of soil conservation and land-improvement techniques such as cover crops and no-till agriculture for 50 years. These kinds of improvements will soon become more economical and widespread in the river valley thanks to a recent allocation of $10 million by the USDA to fuel a Regional Conservation Partnership Program targeting a six-county swath of Southeast Tennessee.        (Photo: TN Aquarium)

A scientist from the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute holds a mature Laurel Dace collected during a population study of a stream on Walden Ridge. The Laurel Dace is considered the second-most-endangered fish species east of the Mississippi River and one of the top ten most-endangered fish species in North America. It is only found in a few streams on the ridge, which is included in the geographic range of a recently approved USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program seeking to improve water quality in the region.  (Photo: TN Aquarium)

• Learn how a Sequatchie Valley farmer is using water-friendly techniques to improve his land and safeguard wildlife: https://youtu.be/VrGyUWhGYJA 

Tennessee CLEAN Announces Inaugural Members of Coalition to Address Litter Issues

The Chattanoogan

                                            (Photo: Tennessee CLEAN)

Tennessee Wildlife Federation is working to solve the litter problem in our state through a sweeping public-private partnership effort called Tennessee CLEAN. The Federation has announced that 96 businesses, organizations and local governments have signed on as founding members of a coalition. It has also amassed more than 900 individual signatures for the Tennessee CLEAN petition to let Tennessee leaders at every level know that litter pollution must be addressed.

Read more.

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• See the Impact of Litter in Waterways      Tennessee CLEAN

An exhibit at the Tennessee Aquarium is highlighting the extent of plastic pollution in oceans and waterways. Open through Oct. 30, the display includes sculptures of several sea creatures made out of plastic waste, as well as a brook trout made from plastic collected in Tennessee waterways.

Learn more.

 

 

Thrive Welcomes 2022 Resilient Communities

Thrive Regional Partnership

Chattanooga Creek Bridge.  (Photo: Thrive Regional Partnership)

South Chattanooga, Dalton, Spring City, and South Pittsburg join the Resilient Communities pilot program, Thrive Regional Partnership’s groundbreaking initiative in partnership with the Open Space Institute to help communities plan for and address environmental challenges including the increasing effects of climate change.

Read more.

It's Yellow Jacket Time

Terry W. Johnson - Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources

                                                                                        (Photo: GA DNR / Adobe Stock)

I can safely say I don’t know anybody who has a kind word to say about yellow jackets.

Yet it seems that folks most often talk about their dislike for the half-inch-long yellow-and-black wasps in the summer and fall. I suppose it’s because we seem to encounter them more often during these seasons.

But like them or not, yellow jackets are interesting. Here’s what I mean …

Read Terry’s column to explore the lives of these reviled insects.

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Animal Architects: Meet the Collectors

Ethan Hatchett - Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources

                                                                                                            (Photo: USFWS)

The natural world is full of discarded items. Leaves fall, branches break, animals die.

But some creatures profit from what’s left behind. Nature’s trash is their treasure.

These "collectors" vary from case-building caddisflies, whose larvae assemble makeshift armor from pebbles, twigs and other objects, to young green lacewings, which camouflage themselves with bits of organic matter, including the remains of insects they've eaten.

For insight into these skilled savers, see part two of our Animal Architects series.

 

Emerging Trends in the Nature Center Profession

Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center

                                                                                                             (Photo: RRA&NC)

Reflection Riding President & CEO, Mark McKnight, recently returned from the Association of Nature Center Administrators’ annual conference, “Thrive Outside”, held outside Baltimore, Maryland. On the back of this year’s ANCA Summit guide, a tagline read “Nature centers make our communities livable and sustainable. ANCA helps to lead these organizations forward.” ANCA has been a large part of why Reflection Riding is now a thriving entity. It provides a unique experience for connecting with others focused on building sustainable organizations while also facing the challenge of handling the enormous increase in demand for what we do.

Learn about this, efforts to protect Lookout Creek, hummingbirds, urban wildlife and more in Reflection Riding's recent newsletter.

It's Water Quality Month in Tennessee

Land Trust for Tennessee

We all live downstream: while we may have heard it before, access to clean water is more of a concern now than ever. Water quality affects us all and demands protection in perpetuity. Throughout The Land Trust for Tennessee’s conservation planning, we have prioritized water quality as a highly significant conservation value. While creating "Forever Tennessee," our strategic conservation plan, we administered a public input survey. The results showed a clear concern for water quality, often outranking other conservation priorities.   This analysis of water quality, based on a combination of recent, on-the-ground sampling data and land-based factors, gives us a reading on the health of each watershed. Further, it assists in the prioritization of land conservation projects that will have the greatest impact on nearby and downstream water quality. The map below shows overall water quality rankings across the state. We know how important land is - it's in our name, after all! But a major part of what makes our land here in Tennessee so valuable, diverse, and life-sustaining is the water that flows through it. The Land Trust is driven to continue protecting areas of high water quality to ensure a healthy future for generations to come.

View map.

(Photo: TennGreen) Read How Do We Keep Our Water Clean? from TennGreen Land Conservancy.

New Project Seeks Public's Help to Identify and Preserve Tennessee’s Best Views

The Chattanoogan

                                                               (Photo: Chuck Sutherland)

Scenic Tennessee is inviting the public to take part in Tennessee Vistas (tnvistas.org), a community-sourced initiative to identify, map and help ensure the future of Tennessee’s most beloved and significant scenic views. 

Read more.

The Story of Monte Sano State Park's William Arthur Wells CCC Memorial Trail

Alabama Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources

                       (Photo: AL DCNR)

Check out this video that tells the powerful story of the William Arthur Wells Memorial Trail built by the CCC at Monte Sano State Park. Learn more about Alabama State Park trails and how you can become a member of the Dirt Pass Trails Crew.  

Fall Migration in Summer

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

                         (Photo: Tom Johnson/Macaulay Library)

The calendar and the temperature say it's summer, but some birds are already starting their migrations. Don't miss out! After nesting season is over, migratory birds can wander widely as they fuel up for their journeys, and many are on the move even before August rolls around.

Learn about this and more in the August Cornell Lab eNews.

 

Critical Connection for Cumberland Trail Acquired Along Emory River in Morgan County

TennGreen Land Conservancy

                                                                                                          (Photo: TennGreen)

TennGreen Land Conservancy and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation recently acquired 370 acres of land along the Emory River in Morgan County, Tennessee, as an expansion of Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park!

In 2020, TennGreen’s Strategic Land Conservation Plan Committee determined the Emory River a priority for conservation efforts, largely due to its adjacency to the Cumberland Trail, its threatened water quality, and its popularity among paddlers.

Learn more.