World Wildlife Fund

Victory for Tennessee's Streams, Wildlife and
Public Health

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WWF and Coalition of Tennessee Conservation Organizations Help Save 30,000 Miles of Small Streams in Tennessee from Pollution and Degradation

The barrens topminnow and many other creatures were threatened by proposed legislation.  © Conservation Fisheries, Inc.

The Clean Water Act is a cornerstone of conservation in the United States and a globally significant environmental law. It is also one of the most important tools for protecting the ecological integrity of the biodiversity within the U.S. Southeast Rivers and Streams ecoregion, which World Wildlife Fund has identified as one of the richest, rarest and most biologically important ecoregions in the world. 

In Tennessee, a key state in the ecoregion, a group of road builders, home builders, miners, farmers, and foresters twice attempted to undermine the Clean Water Act’s requirements by pushing for legislation that would have opened up nearly 30,000 miles of “headwater” streams to polluting activities. That amount is nearly half of all stream mileage in the state. Headwater streams are the small, sometimes intermittent streams that are the origin of most rivers. Under the proposed legislation, they could have been filled in with dirt or subject to other pollutants.

Thanks to intense campaigns by WWF and many other groups concerned about Tennessee water quality and habitat, the bills failed. WWF activists played a key role, sending a total of 5,927 letters urging Tennessee legislators to defeat the bills.

Tennessee's headwater streams are vitally important fish and wildlife habitat. © Conservation Fisheries, Inc.

The waters of the U.S. Southeast Rivers and Streams ecoregion are special. In North America, no region has a greater diversity of aquatic life: more than 250 species of crayfish, nearly 300 species of mussels, and over half of all freshwater fish species in the United States are found in these waters. Many native species are found in just one stream or watershed.

Tennessee's headwaters are particularly vital and sensitive habitats which are home to or upstream of some of the richest biodiversity in the world. Many migratory birds, amphibians and mammals use these habitats. Polluting or degrading these waters would threaten aquatic life and community drinking water supplies. Pollution dumped into intermittent creek beds when they are dry can wash into rivers just as easily as pollution dumped into year-round streams, posing a real public health threat. 

Thanks to WWF activists and WWF’s partner conservation organizations in the Southeast Rivers and Streams ecoregion, the headwaters of Tennessee’s rivers and streams will continue to run clear and clean.

Learn more

WWF's work in the Southeast Rivers and Streams Ecoregion

Past action alerts

More Time to Defend Tennessee's Streams - 3/21/2008
Tennessee Streams at Risk - 3/17/2008
Critical Vote on Tennessee Streams - 4/13/2007