Department of Environment & Conservation
Jim Fyke, Commissioner

Specific Judging Considerations

To recognize the organized and sustained efforts of individuals, businesses, organizations, or agencies that improve or protect an aquatic ecosystem in Tennessee

Effectiveness in the long-term protection and enhancement of the aquatic ecosystem

Impact to the biological integrity and diversity of the aquatic ecosystem

Integrated effort relating to adjacent land use

Winner – 2009 Winner of Aquatic Resource Preservation

Duck River Opportunities Project – Maury County
Beginning in 1999, the Duck River Opportunities Project was established to identify and abate non-point source (NPS) water pollution in the Duck River Watershed. The Duck River Watershed is the most biologically diverse watershed in the United States. The watershed covers 2,821 square miles equivalent to 8 percent of Tennessee's total land area. The Duck River winds 269 miles east to west through the heart of Tennessee. It also is the primary source of water for 200,000 Middle Tennesseans.

DROP identifies and mitigates water quality degradation through the implementation of best management practices. In 2008, more than 3,500 feet of stream banks were treated with cedar revetments and/or reforestation. Applied BMPs included short-term control measures, such as the attachment of cedar revetments on severely eroded stream banks. Long-term activities designed to promote the natural functioning of the land included riparian reforestation and planned installation of rain gardens and other structures that mimic natural land process in an effort to improve water quality and quantity and to reestablish habitat and restore natural infrastructure.