The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Water Resources will host an interactive event on Thursday for people in the Hiwassee River Watershed. This event will help them to learn, connect, share information, develop relationships and collaborate with others who are making contributions to the protection and improvement of water resources.
The event will be on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the McMinn County Expo Center, Layman Building, Athens Regional Park, 2405 Decatur Pike, Athens, Tn. 37303.
Currently, the following organizations, groups and state agencies will be participating in the event:
· Natural Resources Conservation Service
· US Army Corps of Engineers
· US Forest Service
· Land Trust for Tennessee
· City of Cleveland
· Bradley County
· City of Athens
· Keep McMinn Beautiful
· Tennessee Department of Agriculture
· Tennessee Division of Forestry
· Tennessee Environmental Council
· Tennessee Stream Mitigation Program
· Tennessee Valley Authority
· Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
· University of Tennessee Ag Extension
· Tennessee Department of Transportation
· Cleveland Utilities
· Athens Utility Board
· TN State Parks
· TN Aquarium
· Southeast Tennessee Resource Conservation and Development Council
Watersheds are land areas that drain into a particular stream or lake. A healthy watershed is important because these waters supply drinking water, water for agriculture, habitat for plants and animals as well as recreational opportunities like swimming, fishing and boating.
The Hiwassee River Watershed is ~2,099 square miles (1,011 in TN) and includes parts of Bradley, Hamilton, Meigs, McMinn, Monroe and Polk counties. Residents from all of these counties share the important responsibility of protecting and improving the water resources in the watershed.
For additional information about this watershed event, contact Regan McGahen at 615 532-1175 or regan.mcgahen@tn.gov.