How the TSMP Works
The TSMP funds mitigation projects on degraded streams throughout Tennessee. Through valuable partnerships with government resource agencies such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) and non-profit conservation groups, the TSMP identifies streams where the physical habitat has been impaired or degraded. With permission and cooperation from participating riparian landowners, the TSMP designs, constructs, monitors and maintains mitigation projects that benefit both the stream and the landowner. All TSMP projects are constructed at no cost to the landowner. Mitigation projects are monitored for success over a period of three to five years and must be protected in perpetuity by a conservation easement held by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundations (TWRF).
Landowner Benefits and Long Term Protection
The TSMP provides numerous benefits to participating landowners. The most direct, measureable benefits are the restoration of a degraded stream, the repair of eroding stream banks, and the reclamation of a riparian buffer. TSMP mitigation projects stop the wasteful erosion that carries away valuable land. TSMP projects may increase the value of riparian lands and allow tax incentives for participating landowners. The TSMP is required to protect every mitigation project with a conservation easement. Conservation easements ensure that mitigation projects are protected in perpetuity, while allowing landowners to retain ownership of the property without granting public access. Additionally, landowners may be able to deduct the value of the donated easement as a charitable contribution.
Techniques Employed by the TSMP
Changes in land use have had a profound impact on Tennessee’s streams. Riparian forests were converted to agricultural lands, and streams were channelized to facilitate drainage and abate flooding. As a result, many of the natural functions of these altered streams have been destroyed. Stream restoration is the process of returning a significantly degraded, disturbed, or totally altered stream, including the adjacent riparian zone and flood-prone area, to a natural stable condition based on reference conditions. Restoration will typically include rebuilding the appropriate channel pattern, profile, dimensions, and riparian zone to the extent that watershed conditions will allow.
Sediment is the single largest pollutant of Tennessee streams. Excessive sedimentation can result in the elimination of critical habitat for invertebrates and spawning fish. Sediment is introduced into streams from many different sources. Runoff from agricultural fields, commercial and residential land development, and unsound forestry practices transports tremendous quantities of sediment into our streams. Stream bank erosion is another major source of sediment. It can be caused by natural channel evolution, but more commonly is a symptom of the loss of riparian vegetation. Bank stabilization is the process of permanently stabilizing actively eroding stream banks. This can be accomplished by re-sloping vertical banks and using bio-engineering techniques that incorporate living materials, rock, and structures that reduce the erosive near-bank velocities and provide in-stream habitat.
A healthy riparian zone is a critical component of a healthy stream. A well-forested riparian zone provides canopy, buffers runoff, and provides important wildlife corridors. Streams with little or no riparian vegetation commonly have vertical, eroding banks and degraded instream habitat. Hundreds of tons of valuable topsoil are lost each year to bank erosion that could easily be remedied by riparian restoration. Riparian restoration involves replacing the native riparian vegetation that has been removed from a degraded stream. Riparian restoration not only increases the ecological value and overall health of a stream, but it also increases the aesthetic value of the entire stream corridor.