BluewaysTN is a new initiative of the State of Tennessee that is offering boaters an opportunity through several short surveys to be a part of enhancing, protecting, and celebrating Tennessee’s incredible rivers for generations to come. This initiative seeks to balance recreation, conservation, and economic growth, through a connected network of recreational river corridors across all of Tennessee. Whitewater boaters will recognize some gems on the list, including the Nolichucky, Hiwassee, and Emory. American Whitewater has been participating in this process and advocating for river conservation and access. Boaters from Tennessee can weigh in now through statewide and river-specific surveys.
The BluewaysTN Statewide Survey takes about 4 minutes to complete and helps the team understand Tennesseans’ overall priorities, interests, and concerns related to rivers and outdoor recreation across the state.
River-Specific Surveys (10–15 minutes each)
They have also launched river-specific surveys for 14 of the 15 BluewaysTN rivers (the Caney Fork will be addressed after more information on users is collected). These surveys take approximately 10–15 minutes and allow participants to provide more detailed feedback on the opportunities, challenges, and priorities for individual rivers. Don’t forget about the Hiwassee Dries if you take the Hiwassee survey.
All surveys are available at: BluewaysTN.com/surveys
The Tennessee Blueways effort is likely to provide a source of funding and focus on improving an initial suite of great rivers. The Blueways team is compiling information for Conservation and Recreation Plans for each river that will include protection and restoration priorities, river mapping, and conceptual river access locations and designs. With your help, this program could lead to lasting improvements and protections for river recreation across the state.
In September, the Blueways team will share draft Conservation and Recreation Plans for each of the BluewaysTN rivers. They will also hold virtual town hall meetings to share what they propose for each river and seek your feedback before they present the final plans to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) in October. If you can’t make it to one of the virtual town hall meetings, you can always review the draft plans (they will post them at www.BluewaysTN.com when they are ready) and you can then send them your comments.
American Whitewater will continue to participate in this program at the staff level, and we hope that boaters will take the surveys, review the plans, and advocate for a positive future for these rivers.