| Location: | Monroe and McMinn County, Tennessee |
| Type: | Stream Mitigation |
| Size: | 23 Acres |
| HUC: | Hiwassee – 06020002 |
| Credit Types: | Stream |
| Credit Amount: | 2,873 SMU |
The Porterhouse Valley Mitigation Bank is located in Monroe and McMinn County, Tennessee, within the Hiwassee River Basin. This project involves working with one of the largest cattle farming families in eastern Tennessee and they’ve been great to work with. Specific to the family, we have designed a system of fences and watering structures to allow them to continue farming without interruption.
This project will restore two stream systems totaling 6,790 linear feet that have been severely degraded because of conventional agricultural practices. There is channelization because the vegetation was removed and so there has been nothing to keep the stream in its healthy course. The restoration of these two systems will provide aquatic habitat, improve overall stream function, and increase water quality—super important because this system contributes to highly degraded (303d-listed) streams further downstream.
A 23-acre perpetual conservation easement will be placed to protect this stream and the site will be planted with native bare root trees, shrubs and herbaceous vegetation. With the upcoming commercial and residential development trends within the Hiwassee watershed, protection of these small stream systems are critical to improving water quality, reducing sediment inputs, and maintaining the transport of water in the floodplain.
The project is currently under construction and expected to be completed in Fall 2024.
