Space considerations precluded the inclusion of some aspects of Angela Minor’s piece on rivers in the July/August 2020 issue. Here, for each river in the piece, is information on species and history.
Also here: River views and advice from two experts.
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The Tuckasegee River of North Carolina has its headwaters on 10,000 acres of public lands.
New River
Species in residence: In the surrounding landscapes of forests and rare plant communities live 65 mammal species, 40 species of reptiles, a multitude of amphibian species, and seven endemic fish species.
As an important corridor (and critical habitat for resident birds), spring and fall migration numbers are high for warblers.
History: While the mystery of this waterway’s misnomer remains in debate, one documented tale from the 17th Century remains popular. European fur traders on an expedition jotted “new river” on their hand-drawn map; turned it in to the cartographer; and the name stuck.
James River
Species in residence: Largemouth, smallmouth, spotted and striped bass are in abundance. Just east of Richmond, the blue catfish can reportedly grow to 100 pounds with an average size in the 20- to 30-pound range.
History: The James River was the backdrop for pivotal battles in the Revolutionary and Civil wars and served as a crucial transportation gateway to The West.
Russell Fork River
Species in residence: Sections of the river are home to endangered mussel species, as well as the threatened Big Sandy crayfish. Also, of concern are the Indiana bat, Variegate darter, freshwater cordgrass and several insect species. Along the banks are mixed deciduous, hemlock and evergreen forests.
History: In the distant (distant) past, a fault line in Pine Mountain was “discovered” by the young Russell Fork River. The tenacity of water-on-rock for millions of years carved the horseshoe gorge now known as Breaks Canyon. During the unrelenting struggle, massive sandstone boulders were deposited on the floor of the canyon; thus, creating the foundation for some of the most difficult and dangerous whitewater rapids in the country.
Kentucky River and its Forks
Species in residence: The state record-holding goldeye (shad-like) fish at just over 2 pounds was caught in this river.Two hundred bird species reside/migrate in the area; and 600 plant species have been documented including uncommon woody flora. In addition to other mammals, beaver and river otters live in and around this waterway.
History: As a meandering often narrow and frequently flood-prone waterway with crests that reached over 42 feet, the Kentucky River historically devastated farms, communities and entire cities. With seven “great floods” in the 19th Century and more into the 20th, engineers tried multiple solutions like channel improvements, flood walls, levees and eventually the locks and dams (some of which remain in operation today).
Watauga River
Species in residence: The Watauga River Bluffs are dense with ferns and wildflowers such as trillium, Jacob’s ladder, trout lily and hepatica. Two mammals in the region, the Virginia big-eared bat and the Carolina northern flying squirrel, are on the federally endangered species list. A mussel known as the green floater is also endangered. The banded sculpin is a threatened fish species, and the hellbender salamander is of special concern.
History: On the western side of the Eastern Continental Divide, a spring rises in the basin between Peak Mountain and Grandfather Mountain. The latter location holds the dual distinction of highest peak on the Blue Ridge Escarpment and most ecologically diverse eastern North American mountain. This spring is considered the headwaters of the Watauga River.
Clinch River
Species in residence: Over 10,000 species (and counting) of flora and fauna have been documented in this region including 100 native trees, 230 millipede species, 460 unique arachnids, 500 mosses and ferns, 1,400 flowering plants and 2,300 species of fungi. As an ecosystem rich with aquatic diversity, the Clinch hosts 19 rare fish and 29 rare mussel species.
History: Early European settlers (including Daniel Boone) traced the river’s route from Virginia into the wilderness of east Tennessee. The first TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) dam was built in 1936 on the river at Norris—a Roosevelt New Deal planned community for the workers.
Holston River
Species in residence: There are 47 documented species of fish in the river and dam-created lakes including smallmouth bass, trout, redline darter, walleye, crappie and more. Over 300 bird species reside or travel through including the “jewels of the forests”— wood warblers.
History: The nature of this wide river created the perfect route for commerce and travel in both pre- and post-colonial times. Most westward-bound European emigrants followed this river into and through the Valley of East Tennessee. The river also witnessed the struggles between settlers and the Cherokee as well as multiple Civil War battles in its history.
North Toe River
Species in residence: The river valley contains three “Significant Natural Heritage Area” designations (established for the protection of native plant and animal biodiversity). One is a southern Appalachian bog, rare across the globe and dwindling due to development. Defined as saturated soil that is nutrient-poor and acidic, this bog is an ideal ecosystem for rare species such as the smallest turtle in the U.S., aptly named the “bog turtle,” and endangered flora species like the sweet pitcher plant and bunched arrowhead.
History: The river’s unlikely name is believed to be a simplified derivative of a Native word, Estatoe (pronounced ‘S-ta-toe).
Factoid: The Spruce Pine District (accessible at MP 318.4 on the Blue Ridge Parkway) was a destination for Native Americans to dig for minerals such as quartz, mica, feldspar and kaolin.
French Broad River
Species in residence: This is the only river basin to see the Eastern spiny softshell turtle, 10 rare fish species and three rare mussels. Also, the shy and endangered hellbender, a salamander that can reach three feet in length, lives here. Resident and migrant songbirds and raptors abound, along with the opportunity to spot black bears and river otters.
History: Thought to be older than the Appalachian Mountains it traverses, the French Broad was known by many names whose meanings include “racing waters,” “long man” and “chattering children.”
Tuckasegee River
Species in residence: The endangered freshwater mussel called the Appalachian elktoe is now thriving thanks to the Dillsboro Dam removal in 2010; and the olive darter (fish species of conservation concern) was found upstream for the first time.
History: Kituah, the “Mother Town” of the Cherokee located on the river, was home to the eternal flame and an important pilgrimage sight.
Ocoee/Toccoa River
Species in residence: Two endemic flowering plants, the Ocoee Leatherleaf and the Ruth’s Golden Aster bloom in the gorges. Mountain laurel and rhododendrons abound, along with the native flame azalea and the chalk maple, a tree found only in southern forests.
History: When continents collided 240 million years ago at the Great Smoky fault (now inactive), the valley and ridge to the west and the Blue Ridge to the east were created. Visible, near vertical rock folds document those events today.
All three dams (built in 1910, 1913 and 1940 from downstream to upstream) were for hydroelectric plants. The first two diverted water via a wooden flume considered an engineering marvel at the time. When repairs were needed in 1976 the river ran free, and the birthplace of freestyle kayaking was discovered. A half-mile Class IV course was built in the Upper section for the 1996 Olympic canoe and kayak slalom events.
Nantahala River
Species in residence: The state’s healthiest population of rainbow trout actually born in the river, as well as record-setting brownies (almost 25 pounds with a 10-lpound average), swim here. Five mammals (including three bat species), two terrestrial invertebrates, three mussel species and one fish species found in the area are either threatened or endangered. Rare plants and a large diversity of turtles and salamanders are found in the unique bogs and marshes of the upper river region.
History: The highway that follows along the route (U.S. 19/74) was previously part of the infamous Trail of Tears—the forced removal of Native Americans from their ancestral homes in the mid-19th Century.
Chattahoochee River
Species in residence: Two-hundred and forty species of birds fly and live the length of the river. Twenty-three fish species reside in the waters, along with a large diversity of frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and 24 freshwater turtle species. Two kinds of foxes, mink, several species of shrew, mice and bats, and the illusive swamp rabbit make their homes in the river basin.
History: Records of early humans in the area date preliminarily to 1000 BCE with a large number of archaeological sites in Georgia. In more recent history, the river was a boundary of sorts between the First Nation Creek (east) and the Cherokee (west); and was later the location for several turning-point battles during the Civil War.
RIVER PERSPECTIVES FROM GAIL LAZARUS
Gail Lazaras, associate director of Rivers of Southern Appalachia and the Carolinas at American Rivers, offers distinct views on southern mountain rivers.
- They’re precious. “Freshwater ecosystems are some of the most imperiled on Earth and in Appalachia. Mountains contain some of the most diverse aquatic life in the world. We can protect what we still have and restore places that have been damaged if we act boldly.”
- We can protect them. “Holistic approaches to managing water such as installing green infrastructure to soak up stormwater, or sourcing drinking water from live streams rather than from behind decaying dams, make the system work more efficiently and bolster the economy.”
- We can let them flow. “Removing obsolete dams and restoring river ecosystems gives life back to rivers, protects us from flooding, and improves water quality. A healthy river, free-flowing with a shaded bank, is more resistant to erosion.
- We can all help. “Every single one of us has immense power to protect and improve our river systems, even from home. Learn more about your hometown river (AmericanRivers.org). Rivers don’t just make our lives better; we can’t survive without them.”
CLEAN RIVERS: HOW WE ALL CAN HELP
While Dr. Anna George, vice president of Conservation Science and Education at the Tennessee Aquarium, is pleased that the nearly 50-year-old Clean Water Act “has been incredibly successful at reducing industrial pollution,” she laments that problems remain.
“The biggest water pollutant right now is simple dirt,” she says, “which runs off from poorly managed activities on land, such as construction without proper silt fencing, new development that doesn’t provide enough green spaces for rainwater to soak into, or agricultural activities without leaving wide buffers around creeks and streams.”
And while those problems are being addressed, she encourages each of us to help keep rivers clean. Here, from George, are “small actions at home [that] matter:
- Apply fertilizer to lawns in dry periods so that it has time to soak in and won’t wash off into streams and rivers with a heavy rain. So, check the weather before you garden.
- [Choose] native plants in your yard, especially in places where water runs off quickly during a rainstorm, to try to slow it down.
- Install rain barrels at your gutters to catch and reuse water for your garden rather than running more water from the hose (and running up your water bill!).
- Pick up trash when you see it (or volunteer at a community river cleanup event). This really helps plastic pollution from choking freshwater and marine mammals.
- Find out what watershed you live in (the EPA and USGS websites can help with this). You’ll immediately see how we’re all connected through healthy water.”