The Tennessee Valley Authority is encouraging people to get outdoors with a new interactive map of recreational opportunities on undeveloped TVA public lands.
More than 229,000 acres across TVA’s seven-state service area are available for informal recreation, including hunting, fishing, camping, biking and hiking.
The web page, http://www.tva.com/landsmap, includes locations and regulations for use of TVA lands that have very limited manmade facilities. Many of these areas are located along the Tennessee River and its major tributaries. There are also instructions for downloading a new mobile app for your phone or other wireless device.
“We often get questions from the public about what TVA land is available for activities such as hunting,” said Bruce Schofield, TVA vice president for Property and Natural Resources. “Our new online map lets people quickly find areas where hunting, primitive camping or other outdoor opportunities are located.”
The map page lists regulations for recreation, such as a 14-day camping limit on natural lands. Although TVA manages the public lands displayed on the map, some activities like hunting are regulated by state, federal and local laws.
“We ask people using our undeveloped recreation land to do two things,” Mr. Schofield said. “We want them to act safely, both for themselves and others, and we want them to be good stewards of these natural areas by obeying posted signs and limiting their impact on the landscape.”
He said responsible users should leave public lands in the same or better state than they found them.
TVA is also a partner in Leave No Trace, a national environmental education program to raise awareness about the impacts of outdoor activities. The program aligns with TVA’s focus on environmental stewardship and responsible management of our natural resources. A link to Leave No Trace guidelines is provided on the recreation map page.
Additional information on public recreation opportunities is available through the TVA Environmental Information Center at 1-800-TVA-Land and TVA’s recreation web page at http://www.tva.com/river/recreation/index.htm.