Healthy Tennessee Waters

In Tennessee, TNC and the Corps are collaborating — as part of the Sustainable Rivers Project — removing barriers along the Cumberland River, which like most waterways flowing out of the Appalachians, supports a variety of fish and mussels. As of 2025, the partners were in the information collection phase, assembling data about the local ecology and needs of species while listening to stakeholders about perceived challenges and opportunities. To be thorough and thoughtful, the Corps and TNC will spend up to two years on this phase before moving ahead with a new strategy.

In a remote portion of the Cherokee National Forest, located in the heart of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, TNC and peers from the U.S. Forest Service are methodically removing barriers to the natural flow of water in the Citico Creek watershed, identified as a top priority for both organizations. The partners are also improving infrastructure, including stream crossings, for people who visit this wilderness area for hiking, fishing and backcountry camping.

The Nature Conservancy collaborates across the Tennessee-Kentucky border to work with farmers who are willing to implement conservation practices — like transitioning regularly flooded lands into forest and wetland habitat and planting buffers along rivers and streams and even in between row crops — to benefit the health of local waterways. In Tennessee and Kentucky, agriculture significantly contributes to local water pollution that eventually reaches the Mississippi River and the Gulf of America. On-farm conservation practices significantly reduce this outcome. 

TNC is grateful to work with a variety of partners, including elected officials, on assembling support projects that will restore Tennessee's unique freshwater resources. In 2024, Congress passed a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which included funding for habitat restoration along the Lower Mississippi River from the Hatchie to Loosahatchie (River Mile 775-736), among other projects. It is project promotes clean air, flood control and recreation for Tennessee communities located along the Mississippi River.

In 2024, the State of Tennessee introduced the Middle Fork Bottoms Recreation Area as the newest addition to its system of state parks. Tennessee State Parks is focusing on expanding public access and enjoyment opportunities at this 860-acre public land. TNC will also continue to help manage a wetland within the park that is key to retaining and slowly filtering floodwaters that once regularly inundated this property, which was previously a working farm.

Entirely situated within Tennessee’s borders, the 284-mile long Duck River is one the most biodiverse rivers in North America, supporting 60 species of mussels—including 19 listed as federally threatened or endangered—that help to naturally filter what serves as the main source of drinking water for 250,000 people residing in rapidly developing Middle Tennessee. However, severe drought coupled with withdrawing more water to meet the needs of local communities, signals a potential crisis for the river’s ecology and its ability to support wildlife and people. In response, TNC is working with Tennessee Tech University, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and others to assemble data that illustrates why protecting nature in and around the Duck River provides long-term resilience to extreme weather events and cleaner water throughout the watershed. The partners hope the data will guide decisions around how much water can be removed from the river, particularly during a drought.