ExploreTRV Mapguide Migration to Elebase Platform Completed
The TRV Stewardship Council leadership has announced that the planned system migration to the Elebase platform was completed on March 26, 2020. The new platform is a cloud based system with greater geospatial mapping and end user applications.
For current contributors, passwords will need to be updated during the login process. If you need assistance, please contact Angie: angiepierce2@charter.net
Additional features in the system will be rolled out over the next six months. These include the ability to package trips, and to offer discounts, and blogging.
Great American Clean-Up on the Tennessee River
Communities and organizations up and down the Tennessee River will be hosting river events during the 2020 Great American Clean-Up, which runs from March 19 through the end of June. This event is the largest organized community improvement event in the nation, serving towns, parks, and now rivers. We are proud that our river has the first river based KAB affiliate, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful in the US.
The Tennessee River Valley watershed is made up of forty six reservoirs and thousands of miles of shorelines, streams, and rivers. From headwaters to tailwaters, keeping the waterways healthy and free of unsightly litter takes a huge volunteer effort. The net impact of these efforts is protecting the habitats of native species, while enhancing recreational opportunities on the river for locals and visitors.
Want to get involved in a waterway clean-up? There are many events already scheduled needing volunteers:
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful: Each year, the non-profit organization partners with Living Lands and Waters to host a “Grand Slam Clean Up.” This year, events are scheduled for Pickwick Lake, Kentucky Lake at Land Between the Lakes, Chickamauga Lake in Dayton, TN and the Clinch River in Oak Ridge.
Keep Athens-Limestone (AL) Beautiful annually hosts a Trash Attack and Waterway Clean-up to help keep the shorelines of the Tennessee and Elk Rivers clean, along with the roadways. Blowing trash from roadways is one of the largest contributors to waterway trash issues. Athens-Limestone litter coordinator, Lynne invites paddlers to experience the beauty of their blueways and to help the organization by practicing Leave No Trace principles while on the river and at the boat launches.
Keep Cocke County (TN) Beautiful was well represented at the State of Tennessee kick-off for the Great American Clean-up. Cocke County’s Sheriff Armando Fontes provided the keynote speech to the Tennessee KAB affiliates. Sheriff Fontes’s presentation included the 3 “e’s” of litter prevention- Engage, Educate, and Enforce. Keep Cocke County Beautiful will be working on both Douglas Lake and the Pigeon River in March and April respectively.
Sometimes groups come together organically. Two examples are the Cherokee Lake Users Group and the Norris Lake Project. Both of these organizations are grass roots organizations that bring together volunteers who are invested in caring for their lakes. Each group have events scheduled in March.
Of course, the other hero of the Tennessee River is TVA. Charged with a mission in 1933 to be good stewards of the lands and waters entrusted to them, TVA has been a tireless partner with grassroots organizations such as the above listed projects across the Valley. Without their generous support, the capacity of these groups would be lessened.
If you live, play, or work along the river, you already know that trash has a negative impact on the beauty of that community. Be a voluntourist. Explore, Engage, Act. #DoBeautifulThings. #TVAFun.
Peaches and Carp- Southern Invaders
What do carp, Kudzu, and peach trees all have in common? They are all invasive species that have crowded out native species in America’s southeast creating economic and ecological impacts.
Beginning with the early pioneers and explorers, well-meaning people have introduced invasives that have slowly changed ecological habitats of the Tennessee River watershed’s plants, animals, and vertebra. It was Spanish Explorer, Hernando Desoto who introduced peaches, one of the first non-native trees to the South which quickly naturalized. While peaches have not created an ecological crisis, other noxious plants introduced for landscaping and erosion have had deleterious impacts.
Notorious for overwhelming native habitats, Kudzu and privet are two noxious plants that have crowded out native plants across the Tennessee River Valley. The choking effect of the spread of these plants not only impacts the visual landscape but that of the habitats of birds and animals. The rapid growth of kudzu can quickly kill trees and shrubs due to the heavy shading that occurs as the plant wraps around larger plants. Introduced by state and federal agencies to stop top soil erosion, the inadvertent net effect was naturalizing a plant that spreads rapidly, kills native plants, and is almost impossible to eradicate. Similarly, privet out competes native plants for nutrients. Introduced as an ornamental landscaping shrub, privet invaded forest riparian space, shading forest floors and crowding out propagation of native species. The net result was a less diverse landscape of trees and shrubs that are critical habitat for birds and small animals.
Equally notorious are the bad guys of the waterways, zebra mussels and Asian carp. Their voracious feeding is disrupting fisheries on the Ohio, Mississippi and most recently, the Tennessee River. With few natural predators, the populations of both have crowded negatively impacting sport and commercial fishing.
To help prevent the spread of invasives in the Tennessee River Valley:
- Boats: Drain your motor, live well, and bilge on land before leaving the area. Power wash your boat and allow to dry before launching in another body of water.
- Fish using native baits
- Don’t carry in firewood from other locations.
- Camping gear: Sweep tents of debris. Clean your tarps and other equipment of dirt and leaves.
- Talk to local nurseries before selecting landscape plants.
- Report observation of invasives.
- Participate in an event to help remove invasives.
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