An Environmental Plan for the Middle Nolichucky River Area

Abstract

This article presents an environmental plan for the area surrounding the Middle Nolichucky River in northeastern Tennessee, developed for a nonprofit group called the Friends of the Nolichucky River, by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The plan is broadly conceived because stakeholders' concepts of the environment include the natural environment and the river/air/water quality, as well as the traditional agricultural landscape, local culture, and historic structures. Numerous problems, such as agricultural runoff, soil erosion, flooding, habitat fragmentation, and impending climate change combine to affect human and ecological health, aesthetics and culture, and environmental economic services. The plan integrates several themes, including the built and natural environments, 21st-century agriculture, sustainable technologies, climate change mitigation, and land conservation techniques. The plan is novel in that it is decidedly multi-faceted, more so than what is found in typical comprehensive plans or more classical environmental plans that focus only on natural amenities.