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 STRATEGIC PLAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 

Background 

Physiography 

Biological Resources 

Public Lands 

Stresses 

Goals, Objectives, and Strategies 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is undertaking an ecosystem approach to conservation to enable the agency to more efficiently and effectively accomplish its mission, which is:

...to conserve, protect, and enhance the Nation's fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.

Protection of the Service's trust resources (endangered species, migratory birds, interjurisdictional fisheries, and marine mammals) will require the long-term maintenance of healthy ecosystems. An ecosystem approach will require a holistic view of resource conservation, recognizing that all things are connected. To be effective, an ecosystem approach will not only mean protecting or restoring the function, structure, and species composition of an ecosystem but also factoring in the impacts of and providing for sustainable socioeconomic activity.

The Service has adopted watersheds, as identified by the U.S. Geological Survey's Hydrologic Unit Map, as the basic unit for ecosystem management. For planning purposes, watersheds have been clustered into ecosystem units, and ecosystem teams have been formed to develop ecosystem plans for these units. The Service's Southeast Region assigned the Lower Tennessee-Cumberland Ecosystem Team (Attachment 1) the responsibility for developing a plan for the ecosystem and its two subunits--the Lower Tennessee River watershed and the Cumberland River watershed.

The purpose of this ecosystem management plan is to outline goals, objectives, and strategies to protect and restore Service trust resources and ecological integrity within the Lower Tennessee-Cumberland Ecosystem (LTCE). The plan recognizes that ecosystem function, natural community structure, and species composition are integral to the conservation of the Service's trust resources. It also recognizes that the Service is just one of many partners, all of whom share responsibility for ecosystem health. These partners include Federal, State, and local agencies; communities; organizations; and corporate and private landowners, among others. The Service will enlist the assistance of partners in order to accomplish the goals set forth in this document and will offer support to further the activities of other organizations and individuals with complementary objectives.

Physiography

The LTCE is composed of two watersheds, the lower half of the Tennessee River and the entire drainage of the Cumberland River. The Tennessee River, the fifth largest river in the United States in terms of flow, begins at the confluence of the Holston and French Broad Rivers near Knoxville, Tennessee, and empties into the Ohio River 650 miles downstream near Paducah, Kentucky. The river drains 41,000 square miles over 125 counties in seven States. The Lower Tennessee River encompasses that portion of the river valley located in Northern Alabama and Middle and West Tennessee (Figure 1).

The Cumberland River is formed by the junction of the Poor and Clover Fords of the Cumberland River in Harlan County, Kentucky, about 693 miles above its confluence with the Ohio River at Smithland, Kentucky. The drainage area of the river is 17,598 square miles. Major tributaries include the Laurel, Big South Ford, Caney Fork, Obey, Harpeth, Roaring, Red, Rockcastle, and Stones Rivers. Topography within the Cumberland watershed is highly diverse, with elevations ranging from its 4,139 feet amsl in its headwaters in the Cumberland Mountains to 302 feet amsl at its confluence with the Ohio River.

The LTCE has exceptional physiographic diversity. The Cumberland Mountains and Northern Cumberland Plateau, Interior Low Plateaus and East Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic areas fall within the watershed. Ecological communities include remnants of a once complex and expansive mosaic of prairies; savannas of oak and ash; closed forests of oak and oak-hickory; rich mesophytic forests on loess bluffs; bottomland hardwood swamps; extensive cave systems; cedar glades; transient lakes; and free-flowing coldwater streams. In addition, unique features of subterranean drainage such as sinking streams, sinkholes, springs, and caves as well as cliffs, bluffs, waterfalls, and stream gorges contribute to the diversity of the ecosystem.

In general, the eastern portion of the ecosystem is characterized by hills or ridges with steep faces on one side and gentle slopes on the other. Rolling hills, open fields, and woodlands characterize the middle and western portions. Average rainfall for the LTCE is about 50 inches a year. Soils within the ecosystem vary from low to very high fertility.

Biological Resources

The rich fauna and flora of the ecosystem reflect its diverse physiography and unique geologic past, and include many of the Service's trust resources; e.g., numerous federally listed plants, mussels, interjurisdictional fishes, mammals, and cave fauna; waterfowl and other migratory water birds; and many neotropical migratory birds.

Flora of the LTCE are remarkable. The ecosystem lies within the mixed mesophytic forest region. The mixed mesophytic forest is characterized by a canopy in which dominance is shared by numerous species, occasionally up to 35 species, and reaches its greatest development in the Cumberland Mountains. The principal forest communities there are the all-deciduous and the hemlock-mixed deciduous communities. On shallow sandy soils, pine and pine-oak communities commonly occur. Native vegetation in the Interior Low Plateaus Area is dominated by oak-hickory forest and a mosaic of remnant bluestem prairie/oak-hickory forest.

The unusually rich and diverse fauna found in the ecosystem is the product of a multitude of biotic and abiotic factors which have evolved over time. Throughout geologic time, changes in such factors as topography, climate, and geomorphology have formed, modified, or eliminate habitats and consequently have had a profound effect upon the distribution of the faunal assemblages in the ecosystem. Due to the ecosystem's central geographical location in the eastern United States, some species with northern affinities and others with southern affinities occur in the ecosystem in addition to those common to the central region of the country.

The importance of the LTCE reaches far beyond its watershed boundaries. The Land Between The Lakes, one of only 300 Biosphere Reserves in the world, occurs in the LTCE. Additionally, the Tennessee River Gorge, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, has been nominated as a Biosphere Reserve. The LTCE supports one of the world's richest assemblages of freshwater bivalve mollusks (mussels); one-third of all the mussel species in North America occur here. One of the most extensive and biologically diverse cave systems on the globe exists in the ecosystem. Cross Creeks, Tennessee and Wheeler National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) are the three primary wintering areas for the Southern James Bay population of Canada geese, one of the continent's most threatened populations of waterfowl.

A significant acreage of public land is found within the LTCE. Service lands include the Tennessee NWR (52,000 acres), Wheeler NWR (45,000 acres), Cross Creeks NWR (9,000 acres), Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery (NFH), and Wolf Creek NFH. Although limited, they provide important support to trust resources. Other major Federal landholdings include the Tennessee Valley Authority's Land Between The Lakes (170,000 acres), Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (108,000 acres), and several thousand acres of reservoirs and adjacent lands. Several military bases also occur in the basin. The three states in the ecosystem contribute thousands more acres of State parks and wildlife management areas. Many opportunities for partnerships exist among land management agencies.

Stresses

Much of the region's economic activity--agriculture, lumbering, mining, and recreation--is based on the watershed's natural resources. Sustaining most of these activities requires maintenance of a healthy ecosystem. Stress from human activities has adversely affected the ecological integrity of the LTCE, and there are indications that this stress is increasing. The exceptionally diverse mussel fauna illustrates the extent of these adverse impacts. This unique faunal group evolved and flourished in response to a diverse, free-flowing riverine ecosystem that was spared the periodic ravages of glaciation. However, since European settlement, and especially during this century, this vast riverine ecosystem has been profoundly altered by impoundments (over 2,000 miles of its rivers are impounded), channelization, siltation, and water pollution. Historically, about 100 distinct mussel taxa existed in the LTCE. This once diverse and abundant fauna has been so decimated that nearly half (46 percent) of the species are either extinct (8 percent), classified as endangered (24 percent), or under review for Federal protection (14 percent). During the twentieth century, no other wide-ranging faunal group within the continental United States has experienced this degree of loss.

Other taxonomic groups are also in jeopardy. There are 74 species in the LTCE that are federally listed as threatened or endangered or are proposed for listing--28 species of mussels, 19 species of plants, 10 species of fish, 8 species of mammals, 4 species of birds, 4 species of snails, and 1 arachnid. Additionally, based on data from the Breeding Bird Survey, 74 percent of the neotropical migratory bird species breeding in Tennessee have declined between 1980 and 1989.

Environmental alteration and degradation are continuing challenges to the maintenance of a productive and healthy LTCE. Resources of the area are threatened by land conversion, poor land-use practices, direct and indirect physical alteration of the area's rivers and streams, and both point- and nonpoint-source discharges of pollutants. Herbicides, insecticides, nutrients, and sediment are significant components of the agricultural runoff that adversely affects aquatic systems throughout the area. Acid precipitation and other airborne pollutants are having dramatic effects on aquatic and terrestrial communities, particularly at high elevations. Natural resources are further threatened by an expanding human population and its increased demand for renewable and nonrenewable resources. Contamination of both aquatic and terrestrial systems through the accidental release of toxic chemicals is a continuing threat. The expansion of urban and suburban areas within the ecosystem and the concurrent loss of forest, agricultural, and other types of open space associated with this expansion have reduced the quantity and quality of natural habitats available to fish and wildlife.

Given the abundance of ecosystem-altering influences past and present, a coordinated landscape-scale effort is necessary to reverse and prevent further declines in biological resources. A healthy ecosystem will provide much more than diverse flora and fauna. It will provide clean air and water; healthy soil; sustainable harvests from forests and fields; and abundant outdoor recreational opportunities for this and future generations. Through the efforts of the Service and other partners, the LTCE will become a healthier ecosystem and a model of how socioeconomic objectives can be accomplished without sacrificing the environment.

VISION: Conservation of the Tennessee and Cumberland River watersheds' natural animal and plant diversity through perpetuation of a dynamic, healthy, ecosystem.

GOAL 1. To protect, restore, and enhance habitats and essential processes necessary to maintain healthy biological diversity.

Objective 1.1 In cooperation with partners, maintain and restore waterfowl populations to 70 million waterfowl use days, the historic level of the 1970s.

Strategy 1.1.1 Manage Service lands and work with partners to manage other lands to provide resting and wintering habitats for ducks, with special emphasis on black ducks.

Strategy 1.1.2 Manage Service lands and work with partners to manage other lands to provide resting and wintering habitats for geese, with special emphasis on the Southern James Bay population of Canada geese.

Strategy 1.1.3 Manage Service lands and work with partners to manage other lands to provide brooding and nesting habitat for cavity-nesting ducks, with emphasis on wood ducks.

Strategy 1.1.4 Monitor population levels, survival, and band recovery rates of waterfowl.

Strategy 1.1.5 Develop an ecosystem management plan for resident Canada geese

Objective 1.2 In cooperation with partners, identify nuisance nonindigenous species and develop strategies for controlling them and protecting affected trust resources.

Strategy 1.2.1 Develop methods to control nuisance nonindigenous species and protect trust resources from nuisance nonindigenous species.

Strategy 1.2.2 Develop and implement plans to control the following exotics and protect affected trust resources; review and reevaluate plans every 3 years:

(a) Grass carp.

(b) Zebra mussel.

(c) Gypsy moth.

(d)Invasive plants (e.g., alligator weed, kudzu, johnson grass).

Strategy 1.2.3 Develop and disseminate outreach materials to explain the harmful effects of nonindigenous species and offer native alternatives to their use.

Objective 1.3 In cooperation with partners, manage public lands and assist private landowners in managing their land for biological diversity at the landscape scale.

Strategy 1.3.1 using the appropriate tools, identify and quantify habitats essential for conserving biological diversity.

Strategy 1.3.2 determine those areas that are appropriate for developing and/or managing habitats essential for biodiversity and develop strategies for those areas.

Strategy 1.3.3 Manage Service lands and work with partners to manage other lands to increase by 3 percent a year those habitats which are currently limiting biological diversity.

Strategy 1.3.4 develop and disseminate outreach materials focusing on habitat protection, management, restoration, and enhancement.

Objective 1.4 In cooperation with partners, protect and restore declining populations of neotropical migratory birds and shorebirds and their habitats.

Strategy 1.4.1 Identify high-priority species and their habitat needS ; inventory the distribution and abundance of high-priority species and their habitats; develop and implement strategies to address the needs of high-priority species and identify the roles of cooperators ; and establish and implement monitoring schemes to track population trends, both regionally and locally.

Objective 1.5 In cooperation with partners, protect and restore mussels, other aquatic invertebrates, fishes, and their habitats in free-flowing streams and rivers.

Strategy 1.5.1 identify and survey at least 20 species at risk and initiate protection strategies as appropriate.

Strategy 1.5.2 Protect and restore existing free-flowing rivers and streams at risk, emphasizing the following.

(a) Duck River above Columbia, Tennessee.

(b) Tennessee River below Pickwick Dam.

(c) Elk River from Tims Ford Dam to confluence with the Tennessee River.

Strategy 1.5.3 Select and accomplish ten priority 1 recovery tasks for listed aquatic species.

Strategy 1.5.4 Develop and disseminate education and outreach materials focused on the value of free-flowing rivers, associated biota, and actions that can protect these resources.

Objective 1.6 In cooperation with partners, protect and restore bats, other cave biota, and their karst/cave habitats.

Strategy 1.6.1 Identify/survey species, habitats, and threats and prioritize cave/karst systems; protect high-priority caves/karst systems and associated biota; and restore degraded habitats and imperiled species in high-priority caves.

Strategy 1.6.2 Develop and disseminate educational and outreach materials focused on the value of, and threats to, cave/karst resources.

Objective 1.7 In cooperation with partners, protect and restore wetlands and wetland-dependent species, focusing on the following:

(a) Managed wetlands.

(b) Bottomland hardwoods.

(c) Riparian wetlands.

(d) Seeps.

(e) Sinks.

Strategy 1.7.1 Using appropriate tools, identify and quantify wetlands within the ecosystem and initiate the development and implementation of protection, management, and monitoring strategies for high-priority wetlands.

Objective 1.8 In cooperation with partners, restore and protect other unique biotic communities and species/populations of concern, focusing on the following:

(a) Prairies.

(b) Savannas.

(c) Cove Hardwoods

(d) Glades/barrens.

Strategy 1.8.1 Using appropriate tools, inventory and assess unique biotic communities; initiate the development and implementation of protection, management, and monitoring strategies for high-priority communities.

Objective 1.9 Develop and disseminate information necessary for sound natural resources management.

Strategy 1.9.1 identify and collect natural resources information needed to manage ecosystem resources.

Strategy 1.9.2 support the development of integrated interagency natural resources databases and disseminate information to users.

GOAL 2. To promote and support compatible and sustainable uses of the ecosystem's resources.

Objective 2.1 Ensure that the use of Service lands is compatible with their purposes and the Service's mission (ongoing).

Strategy 2.1.1 Review current and proposed uses of national wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries to ensure compatibility with the purposes and objectives for which they were established.

Strategy 2.1.2 Manage use to minimize adverse impacts to Service resources.

Objective 2.2 Reduce the overuse/exploitation and illegal take of biological and cultural resources.

Strategy 2.2.1 Determine and provide a sufficient law enforcement presence to achieve a 75-percent compliance with Service and State regulations, including both commercial and recreational take.

Strategy 2.2.2 develop and implement strategies to address the illegal take of threatened and endangered species and other trust resources, including cultural resources.

Objective 2.3 Work with regulatory and land management agencies, developers, and other resource users to minimize or eliminate adverse impacts on trust species, their habitats, and Service lands (ongoing).

Strategy 2.3.1 Evaluate and develop recommendations for proposals affecting natural resources to ensure the sustainability of the resource.

Strategy 2.3.2 Evaluate proposals requiring Service permits, make permit decisions, and enforce permit conditions to minimize or eliminate adverse impacts.

Strategy 2.3.3 Provide fish stocks for Federal and State programs in order to relieve pressure on native stocksGOAL 3.To increase public knowledge and support for ecosystem resources and their management.

OBJECTIVE 3.1 In cooperation with partners, develop strategies to promote the stewardship of ecosystem resources through education and outreach (ongoing).

Strategy 3.1.1 Identify information needs and target audiences and develop education/outreach plans to meet those needs.

Strategy 3.1.2 Develop and disseminate information products and programs that describe the ecosystem, its resources, and issues it faces.

Strategy 3.1.3 Develop citizen action plans describing the role citizens have in the ecosystem and the actions they can take to promote ecosystem health.

Strategy 3.1.4 Develop demonstration projects to promote the stewardship of ecosystem resources through the use of best management practices.

Strategy 3.2.1 Identify opportunities for volunteer participation in Service programs, recruit and train volunteers, and assign them to assist in accomplishing priority ecosystem goals and objectives.

GOAL 4. To increase coordination and cooperation among organizations to enhance effective and efficient management of natural resources.

Objective 4.1 Work to integrate the Service's ecosystem approach with the ecosystem management and planning activities of other agencies and organizations.

Strategy 4.1.1 Identify existing and potential partnerships ecosystem-wide..

Strategy 4.1.2 In cooperation with partners, develop an umbrella ecosystem management plan that incorporates the basic roles and responsibilities of each participant.

Strategy 4.1.3 Participate in ecosystem planning efforts of other agencies and organizations (ongoing).

Objective 4.2 Increase intra-Service cooperation and coordination.

Strategy 4.2.1 Identify intra-agency needs and opportunities and develop and implement strategies for increasing intra-Service coordination and cooperation (ongoing).