Playing Safe on the Water and Trails
Great outdoor adventures can have great risks. We traditionally think about the risks of activities such as rock climbing, cliff jumping, and high gravity mountain biking, but what about paddling, boating, and hiking?
The Tennessee Valley Region offers adventures that are authentic. Weather, poor planning, and reckless disregard for safety notices can turn an adventure into a disaster.
Water Safety
Memorial Day Weekend is traditionally the first big weekend of the summer for many boaters. As you prepare yourself and your vessel for that fun day on the water don’t neglect water safety for you and for your guests.
Water safety is all about knowing your risks and taking appropriate actions. One of the easiest ways you can protect yourself is by wearing a personal flotation device when you take to the water to boat or paddle.
Here in the Tennessee River Valley, our waterways have seasonal fluctuations and varying levels of boat traffic. Each year, there are drownings that may have been preventable if the boater or paddler had been wearing a life jacket.
May 21 to May 27 is National Boating Safety Week. Safety begins with risk assessment. If you are planning to paddle a river or new waterway that you have not paddled before, know before you go. Are there hazards such as low head dams or strong current conditions to be aware of? For boaters, make sure you check for hazards that might be submerged and, always adhere to boating rules for passing another boater. Stay alert to other boat traffic around you.
Finally, be the “designated driver” to make sure everyone makes it back to land safely. When the boat is in motion, ask your guests to wear their life jackets. Paddlers, be the expert for what to anticipate on your paddling adventure.
Trail Safety
The large tracts of public lands have excellent trail systems laid out. These same public lands, forests, wild life management systems are also home to wildlife including bears. Heed the rules of the trails. If you are unfamiliar with the trail, do some research- How long does the trail take to hike? How do seasonal changes impact the trail? Bring adequate water and wear appropriate footwear. Many accidents on trails are due to people underestimating the time needed to hike a trail or by falling due to slippery conditions or trip hazards. Our trails will often have stream crossings and rocky footing.
Also know that weather conditions can change. Afternoon rain is common in the mountainous eastern portion of the Valley, while severe summer afternoon thunderstorms can poise hazards in the western region. Flash floods are especially dangerous for back country camping and hiking. Prepare a trip plan and share it with someone who is not hiking with you. The National Park Service has created a list to help you create a plan.
Safeguarding the trails
Stewarding the rivers and trails is dependent on you. Most trail users know the 7 principles of Leave No Trace. Practicing adherence to each principle is an opportunity for you to be part of the network of trail stewards that are safeguarding the trails from feckless visitors. Nature is a canvas that is not improved with the litter of human waste. The fragile relationship between these places and visitors is dependent on the actions of each traveler.
Always know before you go. Unlike a controlled park environment, the public lands in the Tennessee Valley are natural wildlife and conservation areas. Your safety is your own responsibility. Your actions impact the ecosystem.
150 Years of National Parks- A Vision Rooted in Romanticism
A vision for important lands to “be held for public use, resort, and recreation” grew out of the period of Romanticism, when artists and writers were influencing public interest in the unspoiled beauty of landscapes, wildlife, and nature. This public interest inspired local legislative bodies to establish public national parks to protect these wilderness areas form poaching and illegal mining. Although more properties were being designated as National Parks under the Department of the Interior, it took until 1916 for the National Park Service to be created to manage the then thirty-five properties. The Organic Act set forth a mission for the National Park Service to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”
In successive years, additional federal acts were passed that added memorials, military parks, cemeteries, monuments, recreation areas, parkways, rivers, and scenic / cultural trails. In total, there are over 430 National Parks Units that are held for public use for current and future generations.
This growth of public property has not always been without controversy. In the Tennessee Valley, there are seventeen National Park service units, excluding the National Scenic Byways. The intrinsic qualities of these units explore the heritage, history, and culture of the area. Each property has been shaped by land, rivers, wars, people, and politics as most straddle multi-state lines. The story of each individual property is often co-opted by tourism led marketing campaigns that focus on growth of visitors without regard to impact of that growth on the visitor experience and the adjacent communities.
A National Park should be an immersive experience for a visitor, a geotourism experience. The ethos of geotourism shares ideals similar to those of the Romantic Movement. The principles of geotourism include conservation, connecting with nature and history, and a sentiment for preserving local community identities. To foster the geotourism experience in 2022, the TRV Stewardship Council will be featuring lesser known NPS properties to encourage people to seek the “less traveled” trails and parks in this vast region.
Join us in exploring more of the National Parks and National Scenic Byways in the Tennessee River Valley. Subscribe to our newsletter.
Earth Day 2022 Spring Clean-Up Activities Kick Off Early in the Tennessee Valley
Keeping the rivers and reservoirs of the Tennessee Valley is a mission of many grassroot organizations. Each spring, volunteers take to the shorelines and waterways to remove trash that would otherwise continue its journey downriver to the sea.
The winter lake pool months of March and April make it easier for volunteers to walk the banks to collect trash and large items that the summer pool and winter rain events deposit along the shorelines.
To take advantage optimal lake pool conditions, “spring cleaning” season has officially begun in the Tennessee Valley. In late March, the Cherokee Lake Users Group, Norris Lake Project, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, and other groups have volunteered thousands of hours to serve on the waterways of the Tennessee Valley.
Of course, the quiet 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.
While Earth Day is an annual national event, the work of these grassroot organizations is done year-round. What is most compelling is the story of the individuals who donate their time to serve locally. On an event morning when the volunteers gather, the resulting teams represents a wide range of interests and ages. Some are conservationists; some are sportsmen; some are homeowners living in the watershed; some are business owners, and many are students seeking service hours. What is common to the group is an interest in serving to protect our valuable waterways.
At the end of a day, the camaraderie that is built among these diverse participants is a powerful reminder of the impact of shared experiences in building bridges to understanding.
In honor of Earth Day 2022, “invest” in a local group to volunteer with year-round.
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