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Show son Dam. Big Ridge and Norris demonstration parks were the first parks of this kind in Tennessee, and an important factor in the establishment of a State Parks Division within the Tennessee Depart- ment of Conservation. Big Ridge Park under State ownership and oper- ation met with public favor; Joe Wheeler State Park has not been a part of the Alabama State Park system long enough to permit evaluation. Tennessee is now developing and operating four parks on TVA lakes other than Big Ridge. The State of Kentucky is developing and operating three parks on Kentucky Lake, North Carolina one park on Hiwassee Lake, and Alabama one park on Gun- tersville Lake and another on Wheeler Lake. Other recreational facilities.-Recreation in the Tennessee Valley is not limited to TVA activities. In the uplands, the Great Smoky Mountains Na- tional Park, the six national forests, and the Blue Ridge Parkway are Federal undertakings. The Natchez Trace Highway, following a scenic route for 450 miles from Natchez to Nashville, has been started in Mississippi but has not yet reached the basin. The Great Smoky Mountains Park with its 461,- 000 acres of mountain forest land, some of it old growth, attracts thousands of visitors annually. These also usually visit the adjacent Qualla Indian Reservation and other local points of interest. These include the various mountain folk industries, some of which are associated with mountain schools. The Blue Ridge Parkway follows the crest of the Blue Ridge from Virginia to Georgia and is to con- nect Shenandoah and Smoky Mountain National Parks. It is a scenic highway that traverses some of the most beautiful sections of the national forests in the valley. About 250 miles of this parkway have been completed, 100 miles are under construc- tion, and 130 more, mostly within the valley, have yet to be built. The section now paved is heavily used. The national forests, with their nearly 2 million acres in North Carolina and Tennessee, provide many recreational opportunities for citizens of the basin as well as large numbers of visitors from the Southeastern States. Some national forest units have special appeal such as the Joyce Kilmer Me- morial area in the Nantahala National Forest which contains some of the largest primeval hardwood trees left in America. The great areas of rhodo- dendrons and other flowering shrubs are world famous. Some 150,000 hunters and fishermen seek sport in these retreats. The Forest Service provides camp grounds, picnic areas, and overlooks for public use. Some 60 of these are now in active use. Conclusion In the interest of a balanced program in the basin, the recreation possibilities of Federal reservoirs should not be neglected. Participation of States, communities, and private interests, both as to de- velopment and management, should be encouraged. Contracts for these purposes should contain re- strictive covenants that protect the other purposes of the reservoir, and preserve a wholesome char- acter in recreational use and facilities. 10. Fish and Migratory Waterfowl and Other Wildlife The Problem The effect of valley reservoir impoundments on fish and waterfowl populations, and adjustments which must be made to the impoundments for fish and wildlife, and other wildlife opportunities in the basin. The Situation One of the best ways to increase fishing possibili- ties is to add to the unpolluted fishing waters. In the valley, there are half a million acres of fishing water that did not exist a dozen years ago. Not only has the TVA program resulted in additional water acreage, but habitat conditions are better in the impoundments than they were in the unim- pounded river. This is suggested by the fact that the increase in fishing intensity exceeds by many times the increase in water surface. On Norris Reservoir the water area increased only 10 times, yet fishing intensity is at least a hundredfold that on the original river. There are two major reasons why the TVA sys- tem of reservoirs has sustained and increased fish production. The waters are fertile and maintain an abundant supply of plankton and small fish which game fish eat. And even in the storage res- ervoirs, after the winter drawdown for flood con- trol, abundant rainfall results in full or nearly full reservoir levels with little fluctuation during the late spring spawning season. Reproduction of game and food fish therefore usually is abundant. TVA impoundments yield annually a harvest of 10 million pounds of fish. This includes some 2.5 million pounds of nongame fish taken by commer- cial fishermen. In northern Alabama, 1.5 million 785 |
