The 91-mile Conasauga River is home to a remarkable diversity of species, including 25 that are considered rare. One species, the Conasauga logperch, is found in a 12-mile stretch of the river and nowhere else in the world. The river originates in the Chattahoochee National Forest, in the mountains of northwest Georgia, flows into Tennessee and returns to Georgia to become part of the Coosa Basin System that continues toward Mobile Bay. In 1999, the USDA Forest Service selected the watershed as one of 12 priority large watersheds, and the river has been identified as one of the most biologically important rivers in the southeast United States.

The Conasauga River Watershed is impacted by urban, forestry and agricultural activities. The river’s resources are utilized for both industrial, agricultural and recreational purposes. Over time, habitat modification and nonpoint source pollution from highway and land use runoff have impaired the watershed. Although real progress has been made, eighteen miles of the Conasauga River and 54 miles of tributaries are still in Georgia’s List of Impaired Waters for fecal, metal, toxic chemical, sediment and nutrient impacts. The Conasauga River Watershed is classified as a Category 1 priority watershed in the state’s Unified Watershed Assessment.

Combating Habitat Modification

In 1994, the Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council undertook an ecosystem-based assistance study and organized meetings of local stakeholders. Three years later, the council founded the Conasauga River Alliance, a partnership made up of local citizens, conservation groups and federal, state and local agencies. The alliance is addressing the degradation of habitat and water quality caused by erosion, sedimentation, excessive nutrients and toxic chemicals in the watershed. The alliance also works with other organizations and stakeholders, such as represen tatives of the Cherokee and Chattahoochee National Forests, to improve watershed conditions in Georgia and Tennessee.

The Conasauga River Alliance has worked with landowners and agency representatives to support enrollment of nearly 200 acres of riparian area in the USDA Conservation Reserve Program. The alliance has also placed over 25 miles of riverbank and streambank under some form of conservation management and planted 11,000 trees.

Numerous public participation activities and best management practice demonstrations, involving practices such as prescribed grazing, animal waste and nutrient management and streambank stabilization, enhance public awareness and education. The alliance is implementing a comprehensive watershed management plan that includes 24 demonstration projects to address nonpoint source pollution and habitat modification. The partnership has also designed and implemented a water quality monitoring program.

State and Federal Partners The Conasauga River Watershed stakeholders receive financial support from the federal government, Dalton Utilities and The Nature Conservancy, and local support through the Bradley County (TN) and Polk County (TN) Soil Conservation Districts, Southeast Tennessee and Limestone Valley (GA) Resource Conservation and Development Councils and Limestone Valley (GA) Soil and Water Conservation District. State partners include the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Forestry Commission, University of Georgia and Tennessee Department of the Environment. Federal support has come from the USDA Farm Services Agency, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Forest Service, EPA and DOI Fish and Wildlife Service.

Table of Contents

http://water.usgs.gov/owq/cleanwater/success/conasauga.html
Created October 13, 2000