Obed-Emory Watershed Water Sampling Project

As part of this year's Tennessee Paddle Festival students and teachers from Central (Wartburg), Coalfield, and Oakdale High Schools in Morgan County, members of TVA's Melton Hill Watershed Team and scientists from The University of Tennessee Water Resources Center will collect and analyze water samples from the Obed-Emory watershed. Volunteers from the Chota Canoe Club, the East Tennessee Whitewater Club, Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning and other folks will help students collect samples from about 25 or 30 locations in the Obed-Emory watershed.  Volunteers and students will collect water samples on Friday and Saturday, April 6 and 7. Students will analyze these water samples at the Tennessee Paddle Festival in Wartburg on Saturday, April 7 from 2 to 8 p.m.

Students will post results on displays and maps of the Obed and Emory River watershed that could later be uploaded to the Tennessee Paddle website.  At the Festival on Saturday afternoon students will also have displays, handouts, and knowledgeable people available to answer visitor's questions and discuss water quality issues. We hope to continue with this monitoring program and develop it into a long-term project that would provide useful water quality data about the ecological health of the Obed and Emory River watershed throughout the year.

We would like to hear from you if you are interested in helping, particularly with collecting water samples. We will need volunteers with cars or trucks that don't mind doing a lot of driving and getting wet to collect the water sampling. 

We also need some groups of boaters that could collect water from locations within the gorge (Antioch to Nemo on Daddy's Creek and the Obed, Clear Creek: Lilly to Nemo, and Emory River: Nemo to Oakdale).

03/16/01

Proposed Dam - Cove Branch (Daddy's Creek)

This Just In - The State has denied the permit! - April 2, 2001

There's a proposal to construct a dam at Fairfield Glade in Cumberland County. The proposal is to build a dam on Cove Branch, a tributary of Daddy's Creek which is part of the Obed. We've put together some helpful information for you to learn why we're opposed to this. You'll need Acrobat Reader 4.0. We need your help!  The final date for the State of Tennessee to receive comments was January 21, 2001. Stay tuned.

The dam proposed on Cove Branch, a tributary to Daddy's Creek (part of the Obed Wild and Scenic River), is part of the next and final expansion of Fairfield Glade, a private development. The site is a 2500 acre tract bought in 1970. The property apparently has deed restrictions that allows this additional development of land and no more. The developer wants to develop it by 2005. They will develop either a lake or golf course. They are currently interested in the lake which will impound up to 81 acres of lake. The site of the dam is on a stream that was dry this summer and appears to run in response to rainfall. It is a headwater site and is located 5 miles upstream of the Obed and 2 miles from Daddy's Creek. It will apparently impact 2700 feet of Cove Branch. The Corps of Engineers has not started on the EA. It must be completed before the permit is issued. The project also has to receive 401 certification from the state on water quality impacts only. - courtesy of Tennessee Clean Water Network

To learn more about TCWP and TN Clean Water Network visit the "links and friends" page.

01/21/01

As part of National River Cleanup Week May 12-19, the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association, TSRA,  will host a cleanup of Clear Creek on May 19. Read more.  Come on out and volunteer.  All are welcome.

posted April 3, 2001

Obed Adopt-a-Crag Receives 1st Place Access Fund Award

Adopt-a-Crag of the Year Award 2000 - Frank Harvey and the East Tennessee Climbers - Obed Wild and Scenic River area received this national award from the Access Fund for their efforts on September 9, 2000. There were 65 events held nationally and the Obed effort received the top award for 2000. This adopt-a-crag grew out of a memorandum between Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning (TCWP) and local climbers. The memo was drawn up after a meeting was held between the two to address climbing impacts. Frank Harvey says "It was obvious that some sort of action on the part of climbers was needed to carry the memo into effect and show the TCWP, the Park Service and others that we (climbers) were serious about taking care of the Obed and Clear. The Access Fund's Adopt-A-Crag Day provided the perfect opportunity to take this next step."

"The Park Service Unit Manager Kris Stoehr, along with 9 other partners signed on to help with the day. There were a number of paddlers, hikers and environmental organization members who came out. "This process, starting with the TCWP memo ... is perhaps the most important achievement of the event and will likely have a longer and more significant impact on climbing access in the Obed/Clear than the physical work done.”

Note: Tennessee Paddle was proud to be one of the nine partners involved with this event.

10/26/2000

New Gauges and Access

The existing water volume gauges at Antioch Bridge and Alley Ford are being instrumented to go "online" sometime in December or January. This came about through funding from the NPS Obed Park folks.

TVA and TWRA have been meeting and as a result a tract at Crab Orchard Creek will be developed with improved access at Flat Rock Ford and at Twin Bridges on White Creek.

10/18/2000

A great turnout for Tennessee Paddle at the Wartburg Civic Center - 2000

Obed Dedication 

Tennessee Paddle presents a map to Commissioner Hamilton. 

Left to right. Dale Robinson TN Paddle; Milton Hamilton Commissioner of the Dept. of Environment & Conservation; Danielle Droitsch National Parks Conservation Association; Chuck Estes American Whitewater; and Lee Russell TN Citizens for Wilderness Planning