Financial assistance available to Tennessee streamside landowners
Nov 15, 2021
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced on November 5 the formation of the Tennessee Riparian Incentive Program (TRIP) a 10-year agreement between TDA and TVA that will provide incentive payments to streamside landowners to help restore and protect Tennessee waters.
University of Tennessee AgResearch staff and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) representatives joined TDA and TVA at the University of Tennessee Forestry Research and Education Center in Oak Ridge to launch the program and demonstrate seedling planting.
“Improvement and preservation of the quality of Tennessee waters are at the core of our work in TDA’s Land and Water Stewardship Section,” Administrator John McClurkan said. “Offering financial assistance to landowners who take steps to repair watersheds and safeguard water quality is one way we do that. This program will expand over the next 10 years and is expected to yield positive results for landowners and the water environment.”
“TVA is proud to stand alongside our partners today and see the first steps in our plans for improving water quality and biodiversity in the Tennessee Valley with thousands of new trees,” said TVA Chief Sustainability Officer Rebecca Tolene. “Improving land by planting trees is a tradition that goes back to the earliest days of TVA. This is a great example of how TVA and our external partners and communities can work together to make sure the valley remains a wonderful place to visit and to live.”
The Tennessee Riparian Incentive Program is a statewide program, starting with efforts in the Clinch and Powell River Watersheds, two of the most aquatically diverse, freshwater ecosystems in the world. Streamside landowners in Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, and Union counties are eligible to apply now. The long-range plan is to expand this program to other watersheds across Tennessee where the water quality is impaired due to a lack of riparian forest buffers.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.
University of Tennessee AgResearch staff and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) representatives joined TDA and TVA at the University of Tennessee Forestry Research and Education Center in Oak Ridge to launch the program and demonstrate seedling planting.
“Improvement and preservation of the quality of Tennessee waters are at the core of our work in TDA’s Land and Water Stewardship Section,” Administrator John McClurkan said. “Offering financial assistance to landowners who take steps to repair watersheds and safeguard water quality is one way we do that. This program will expand over the next 10 years and is expected to yield positive results for landowners and the water environment.”
“TVA is proud to stand alongside our partners today and see the first steps in our plans for improving water quality and biodiversity in the Tennessee Valley with thousands of new trees,” said TVA Chief Sustainability Officer Rebecca Tolene. “Improving land by planting trees is a tradition that goes back to the earliest days of TVA. This is a great example of how TVA and our external partners and communities can work together to make sure the valley remains a wonderful place to visit and to live.”
The Tennessee Riparian Incentive Program is a statewide program, starting with efforts in the Clinch and Powell River Watersheds, two of the most aquatically diverse, freshwater ecosystems in the world. Streamside landowners in Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Hawkins, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, and Union counties are eligible to apply now. The long-range plan is to expand this program to other watersheds across Tennessee where the water quality is impaired due to a lack of riparian forest buffers.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.